Halloween: Bloodline
by lantern-lizzard
Summary: In 2004, the town of Haddonfield, IL was once again massacred by serial killer Michael Myers who returned home after a two year absense to carry out the most horrific mass murder on record. COMPLETE! PLease Read & Review
1. Prologue Chapter 1: Family Ties

Hey this is my first serious attempt at writing a Halloween Fanfic. Its my idea of how to continue the series and it picks up after Resurrection. Please Review and lemme know what you think so far!  
  
Halloween: Bloodline-Prologue  
  
Black Screen.  
  
We hear the haunting Halloween theme music start. The quick slashing of a gleaming butchers' knife across the screen.  
  
Dr. Loomis VO:   
  
I met this six year old boy with this blank, expressionless face. And the blackest eyes, the devils' eyes.   
  
Show clips from Halloween I, and II. Judith Myers being stabbed.   
  
Loomis VO:   
  
I knew at that moment that I was not dealing with a simple boy. But with evil in its purest form.  
  
Show clips from ending of Halloween. Michael strangling Laurie. Loomis shooting Michael.   
  
Laurie:  
  
He really was the boogeyman.  
  
Loomis: As a matter of fact, it was.  
  
Michael in the hospital. Michael collapsing to the ground, engulfed in flames.  
  
Loomis VO:   
  
I prayed that he would burn in hell, but in my heart I knew that hell would not have him.  
  
Scenes from Halloween IV, V, and VI. Michael escaping the ambulance. Michael chasing Jamie through the Meeker mansion. Michael grabbing at Rachael in the pickup.  
  
Rachael: Die, you, son of a bitch!  
  
Michael falling down the mine shaft and escaping down the river. Michael killing Rachael Corruthers. Michael impaling Jamie on farming equipment.   
  
Jamie: You can't have the baby Michael.  
  
Michael stalking Kara and Danny in the Strode household.  
  
Loomis VO:  
  
He isn't Human.  
  
Show clips from Halloween H2O and Resurrection. Michael slitting Marion Whittington's throat. Michael slashing his knife at John and Molly through the gate. Michael confronted face to face with Laurie through the door. Michael stabbing Laurie.  
  
Laurie:  
  
I'll see you in hell. (falls to her death.)  
  
Scenes from Resurrection. Show Michael caught in the electrical wires. Show Freddy and Sara escaping the fire. Show Michael caught in the fire. We begin with the conclusion of Halloween: Resurrection. Firefighters are putting out the remaining flames of the Myers's garage. Sara watches as the paramedics carry Michael zipped in a body bag off on a gurney.  
  
Sara:  
  
That's him isn't it. I wanna see his face.  
  
Firefighter:  
  
I gotta warn you ma'am, it aint a pretty sight.  
  
Sara's face is determined. The firefighter doesn't argue any further.  
  
Firefighter:  
  
Alright…  
  
The firefighter unzips the body bag. We do not see Michaels face but only the expressions on Sara's and Freddy's faces. They are disgusted with the sight. The firefighter shoves a cameraman back.  
  
Freddy:  
  
Looking a little crispy there Mikey, like some chicken friend motherfucker! Well may he never EVER rest in peace.  
  
The body bag is pulled away.  
  
EXT: Hospital Morgue. Two paramedics push the gurney into the morgue while the CORONER finishes prepping a body.  
  
Paramedic 1: Hey, how's it going.  
  
Coroner: You gotta be kidding me, another one?  
  
Paramedic 1: Hey, you got a celebrity here.  
  
Coroner: Oh, let me get my autograph book.  
  
Paramedic 1: I'm serious, it's Michael Myers.  
  
Coroner looks worriedly up: What?  
  
The paramedics turn to wheel the now empty gurney out the door.  
  
Paramedic 1: Get me a copy of that autograph ok?  
  
Coroner: Yeah, sure.  
  
Paramedic 1: she cracks me up.  
  
The coroner stares at the body bag lying on a table at the other end of the room. She looks around the room and then walks away from the first body. She slowly walks over to the body bag and cautiously unzips it. We see the burned mask of Michael Myers. His eyes are closed. She goes to pull Michael's mask off when his eyes suddenly pop open!  
  
Coroner: Jesus!  
  
She jumps back as Michael continues to lie on the table, still in the body bag. She walks over and peers over the white mask and sees the eyes are wide open, but not moving. She gives a sigh of relief as she pulls her visor off.  
  
Coroner: Guess you're my date for the evening.  
  
She walks back over to the first table and wheels her medical stand back over to Michael where she slowly picks up a scalpel. As she's about to cut the mask off she screams as Michaels arm falls off the table and hangs limply next to her leg.   
  
She turns around and runs over the sink to try and compose herself. She's getting pretty freaked out.   
  
Zoom in behind Coroner as Michael slowly sits up and looks at her. Her back is to him. He slowly swings his legs down on to the tile floor. The coroner doesn't notice. Michael doesn't make a sound. The coroner smiles to herself and turns back around ready to perform the autopsy.   
  
She bumps right into Michael who is standing right behind her. Before she has a chance to scream, he grabs her by the throat and throws her onto the medical table that he was just on. She struggles in vain as he continues to hold her down by the throat.   
  
He looks over to the medical stand and peers at the array of sharp objects. She looks over in horror as he picks up a scalpel. She looks up to him in fright but he puts the scalpel down. They lock eyes, hers' confused, his black. He picks up the electric bone saw and turns it on.   
  
Her eyes grow wide with terror and she squirms like mad as Michael jams the bone saw into her stomach and proceeds to cut upwards to her chest. Blood spatters all over his charred mask and her face an she tries to let out a sound. Her eyes go blank as she dies.   
  
Michael lets go of her throat and puts the bone saw back, His breathing is heavy. We pull back on the medical table which the now dead coroner is lying on. Michael walks of screen and his breathing can still be heard as we fade out.  
  
Chapter One: Family Ties  
  
John Tate, or Strode as was apparently his family's name had grown much since his encounter with pure evil over five years ago. His mother had always carried the burden of knowing the face of fear, her brother…his uncle.   
  
Evil runs through his lineage. After his mothers death he had devoted his life to uncovering her secrets. He wanted to know why, why she had been stalked by her brother. Then one day he finally got his answer.  
  
October 28th 2004, Santa Monica, CA  
  
John entered his apartment looking exhausted. It had been a very long week at work and he and Molly still had to go over their seating arrangement for the wedding. Molly was in the kitchen chatting on the phone. John lumbered over to her and gave her a quick kiss.   
  
"Hey babe, how was work today?" she asked cheerfully. She had been in a constant state of joy since they had bought her wedding dress two weeks prior. "Busy as usual." He replied. He unpacked his briefcase and undid his tie, then he lounged over to his computer and flicked on the monitor. "Hey Beth, I'll call you later ok? Yeah, I know, we'll go over those flower arrangements this weekend. Ok, bye."   
  
She hung up the phone and slinked over to wrap her arms around her fiancé' "What's wrong hun, I know we've been stressing over the wedding and all but you seem even more stressed then me, and I'm the one who has to walk down the isle."   
  
John looked up at her with tired eyes. "Molly, do you regret meeting me?"  
  
She mocked outrage," Well you know if I hadn't I could be a cover girl for Vogue so I guess you did hold me back," she laughed," No John, I've never regretted having you in my life, despite everything I still know we can live happily ever after, but only if you stop moping!" He smirked and kissed her.  
  
"Hey I have to call Beth back, I forgot to tell her to call the caterers! She's been such a help." Molly bounced back to the kitchen and John returned his attention to the computer screen. He looked at his mail box and noticed that he had one new message. He opened it:  
  
John Tate,  
  
I know you are looking for answers about your mother's death. My name is Thomas Doyle and I believe I can help you find out what happened to her. You have to go where it all began. To learn about Laurie Strode's past…and about Michael Myers, you must go to Haddonfield Illinois. You must get here before October 31st or you might not live long enough to learn the secrets of your family history.  
  
Best Regards my friend,  
  
Thomas Doyle  
  
John stared in shock and blinked a few times. He broke out in a cold sweat as memories swept over him.   
  
He remembered getting the phone call at work and finding out his mother had been murdered by another patient at Grace Anderson Hospital. He remembered knowing it was not another patient, but that it was him.   
  
He ran his hands through his hair and stood up. He looked at Molly with love in his eyes. They were to be married in four short months. He was ready to get on with his life and forget the tainted need to know his mother's secrets. But he had to know.   
  
He had to know what would drive someone to devote their lives to slaughtering you the way her brother had. And he knew Michael wouldn't stop until he was dead too. He had to find a way to stop him, for Molly.   
  
John apprehensively moved towards his lover and put a hand on her shoulder. She was jus finishing up on the phone so he waited. "Yeah babe?" She asked, she could tell he was upset about something.  
  
"Molly, I, uh, I have to take a trip." She hung the phone up and put her head on his shoulder. "Where do you need to go? What's so urgent?" He responded dryly." I need to go to Illinois. A town called Haddonfield, its where my mom grew up."   
  
Molly bit her lip at the mention of his mother. She didn't want to go there, it was still too soon for him and she knew it. "John what's all this about? Why do you need to go to your mothers home town?"   
  
John took her by the hand and led her over to the computer where she read the email and gasped, "What the hell is this! Who sent this, you can't believe him John!" She was very upset now.   
  
"Mol…I have to go because if we're going to be married I need to know that I can sped the rest of my life with you safely. I can't live with the knowledge that he is still out there."   
  
"Wait John, your seriously going to drop everything and fly down to suburbia?" Molly was nervous as he put his hand up to her face.  
  
"Yeah Molly, I gotta do this, for our sake, and don't even try to come along because I want you to stay right here. I'll only be gone a few days, I should be back by the first of the month, I promise." She looked at him with pleading eyes, her last resort at compromise. "Please don't fight me on this Molly."  
  
She knew it was pointless to argue. "Fine John Tate. You go to that little town and find your answers and then you get your ass back her and marry me." He smiled and kissed her. "Promise Molly, I'll be back soon."   
  
He ran to their room to start packing. Within the hour he was out the door and on his way to the airport. Molly got on the phone as soon as she saw his car drive off. "Hello, when's your next flight to Illinois?" 


	2. Hometowns

Hey guys. Here my next chapter in what hope will be many. Thanks for the encouraging reviews PsYcHo PirATe METALLICA and livingdeadgirl! Hope to here more reviews as I continue the story.  
  
Chapter 2: Hometowns   
  
Sometimes we try to run from our fears. We make ourselves forget them and we pray they go away. Sometimes we even confront them in hopes of overcoming them. Sometimes our fear holds us back in life and doesn't let go until you accept it. You cannot deny your' fears.   
  
October 31st 1995. Haddonfield Illinois.   
  
"Danny, don't move. I'm coming over there to get you." Kara nervously stood in the shadowy hallway of her house. Her son standing in the doorway across from her merely feet away. The only thing in their way was the dormant body of Michael Myers sprawled out at the bottom of the staircase. Kara was terrified beyond believe having just witnessed her best friend murdered, and finding the bodies of her brother and mother. She knew she had to stay focused though, she had to protect Danny. She had to get her son out of here and away from this killer. She took a shaky step towards her son who was calmly looking up at her, oblivious to the danger at their feet. She stepped right into the grasping distance of Michael's open hand. She set her fire poker down, her only weapon, and reached over to pick Danny up. Just as she had set her son down next to her, Michaels hand crunched around her ankle. She screamed in pain and grabbed the fire poker, smacking him in the hand. She fell back against the door but managed to grab Danny and race out the door just as Michael mechanically sat up. Kara was madly limping across the street to Tommy's house with her son right next to her. She reached the door and banged loudly against it as Michael came towards them. She screamed and frantically clawed at the door with Michael right behind her.   
  
"Oh God! No!"  
  
Kara woke up screaming in a cold sweat, her hands shaking. She jumped as her husband Thomas woke up. "Kara what is it! What's wrong?" She looked at him and around the room, getting her bearings. She looked at the clock, 2:24 A.M. She calmed down and pulled her hair back out of her face. She took a few deep breaths as Thomas flicked on the lamp next to their bed. "It was another nightmare wasn't it. You had another dream about him didn't you." Thomas asked with a stern look on his face. Kara looked up into his eyes and forced a smile, "Always seems to happen this time a year. Holiday jitters I guess." She could see Thom wasn't convinced. She bit her lip and gave him a peck on the cheek, "You worry about me too much, I'm fine. I'm just stressed with Dan in school and Stephens sixth birthday coming up." Thom gently moved a loose strand of auburn hair out of her face, "I suppose so…" Kara pulled the covers back around her and snuggled up to her husband, she was safe and content with her life now. "Lets get some sleep ok, tomorrows a big day." Thom turned the light off and wrapped an arm around Kara while she fell back asleep. He lay there in the dark with his eye open thinking to himself, "Yes, tomorrow IS going to be a big day. For everyone."  
  
********************************************************************  
  
"Sir, we've landed. You can leave your seat now." The stewardess stood over John as he woke up groggily. It had been a long flight and he hadn't slept since he got on that same night. It was now morning though and he was determined to find what he was searching for so he could get home, back to Molly. He knew he would have major brownie points to earn back from this little trip of his. He owed her big. John got of the plane and wandered around the airport, he needed to get a taxi but first he had to find a phone book and locate this Thomas Doyle. It was October 29th and he knew he only had a few days before he had to fly back to California. John found a payphone and used a phone book to call a taxi, then he grabbed his suitcase and duffle bag and headed outside to the parking lot. He watched all the people around him, all the happy families and loving couples. He longed for that, he needed to be with Molly to make it official. He wasn't going to end up like his mother. He wasn't going to let himself. After waiting for about fifteen minutes his taxi arrived and he gave the driver the address from the phone book.  
  
Kara stood in front of her bathroom mirror and looked at herself. She looked overworked which was fitting since she was. She turned the sink faucet on and splashed some cold water on her face. Already 7:00, the days had been flying by lately with preparations for her son's birthday. Thom came up to the bathroom door and knocked, "Hun, I need to get in there and finish shaving, Stephen just kicked me out of the downstairs bathroom." Kara smirked and opened the door looking at her husband with shaving cream on half of his face. He swooped in to kiss her but she sideswiped his advance and yelped, "Not until you wash that off!" He laughed and went to the sink to clean up. "I'm gonna be late coming home tonight, I have to meet someone, its for work." Thom looked at the tiny cut he'd just made and winced. Kara gruffed, "Again, what is this the third time this week. Are you having an affair?" Thom casually responded, "Why yes I am actually, she's a lot hotter than you and a real vixen in bed…." Kara whacked him with a towel as he finished rinsing off his face. "But as good as she is, I don't love her because I already have a gorgeous wife and two semi-normal kids." She laughed and rolled her eyes. Thom dried his face off and gave her a wicked grin, "Now where's that kiss hmm?" Kara backed up against the door and fingered him over to her. He wrapped his arms around her and over-passionately kissed her, growling as he did so. Kara laughed, "Oh ravage me you beast!" They laughed and kissed. Just when things were heating up there was a loud knock on the door which abruptly ended their foraging of each other. Kara flushed as her eldest son hollered through the closed door, "Ma, c'mon I need to get in there, I'm gonna miss the bus if I don't hurry!" Thom grunted as Kara giggled and turned to open the door a crack, just enough to mockingly tell her son, "Thom's still shaving and he needs to get to work. You'll have to go see if your brother's still downstairs in the bathroom." Dan sneered at his mom and huffed off. He needed to get ready and get outta this house. He left his parents to their business and quickly ran downstairs to yet another closed bathroom door. "Stephen! You've been in their forever man, gimme a break bro I need to leave for the bus!" There was no response. Dan dropped his head in frustration and banged on the door, "I'm not leaving till you get your but outta there!" Dan folded his arms and leaned up against the door in annoyance.   
  
Unbeknownst to him, his brother was in the bathroom staring into the fogged up mirror. Stephen had a dark expression on his face. He'd been feeling very strange lately, having bad dreams and hallucinations. His birthday was in two days, on Halloween. He hoped this year, he and his brother could convince their parents to let him go out trick or treating. They'd never let him before but he was older now. "Damnit Stephen open up!!" Dan yelled through the door releasing Stephen from his daze. He jumped of his kiddie stool and opened the door to see his very perturbed brother glaring down at him. "Out. Now" Dan motioned for his brother to move and Stephen did so and smiled, "Morning Danny!" "Don't call me that man" Dan whined. Stephen trotted laughing, "Fine, morning poophead!" Dan rolled is eyes and slammed the door shut. He ran some gel through his blonde hair and checked his face for any new zits. Then he drooped his face and became serious. He opened up the medicine cabinet and pulled out a razor. He rolled up his sleeves revealing many scars, old and new. He slid the razor into his arm and winced in pain. Then he felt relief and cleaned up his fresh wound. He smiled into the mirror and quietly spoke to himself, "Well, time to put my mask back on." He pulled his sleeves back down to his hands covering his damaged arms, then he strolled out of the bathroom.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
John got out of the cab and paid the driver who then drove off, leaving him standing in front of a reasonably average suburban house. He walked up through the lawn and tripped over an action figure. "heh, kids." John reached the door just as a young teenage boy about 17 ran out the door, "I gotta go I'm already running late, love you guys!" He bumped into John and looked at him suspiciously, "Can I help you?" John clutched his bags and replied to the youth," Yeah, uh, I'm looking for Thomas Doyle, is he your dad? Is he home its kinda impor" "In the hole" Dan cut him off pointing behind him at the house and continued on. John stood there and watched the kid run to the his bus stop. Weird kid he thought. Just then as he turned around he bumped into a pretty woman with shoulder length straight reddish hair, "Oh! Sorry I uh," John stuttered as Kara gathered herself. "Oh um, hello, is Thom expecting you?" Before he could reply Kara turned and shouted at the still open front door, "Stephen hurry up we gotta get you to school! Thom honey someone's out here to see you!" Kara turned back to John and smiled, "He'll be out in a sec. My names Kara and you are?" "Um, I'm John. John Tate. Has your husband mentioned me at all?" Kara looked back to the house as Stephen trotted out with his back pack and lunchbox. "No, he hasn't mentioned a Mr. Tate. He doesn't talk about work much. Well it was nice meeting you John, if you'll excuse me I have to get this rugrat off to school." John smiled pleasantly as Kara and Stephen walked past him to their car. Stephen looked back at him and gave him a peculiar look. John Looked at him and got a chill. Weird. He looked back at the house and was about to step in when Thom stepped out gulping a mug of coffee and getting out his keys. "Thom Doyle?" John was serious again. Thom looked up at him surprised and replied, "Yes, who are you?" "You said you could tell me what happened to my mother. Laurie Strode." John was dead serious and Thom stood there with a nervous look on his face. He looked over and put on a smile for his waving family driving off, then he turned his gaze back to the man in his yard. "John Tate. We have much to discuss."  
  
TBC  
  
Hey guys soo sorry this chapter didn't have any Michael in it I promise the next one will! I just needed to establish the main players and there are still more to appear! But don't worry Michael is coming home soon and a even have the first murder coming soon.   
  
~Lantern_Lizzard 


	3. Calm Before The Storm

Hey guys, so I'm having a really shitty day so I'm going to jump into my writing. I have just a little more exposition to write but Michael will appear in this chapter so don't worry. Lizz  
  
Chapter 3: Calm Before The Storm  
  
John stood with a stern look on his face as he watched Thom on the phone. They were in the living room now and Thom was talking to his boss. "Yeah, Jim? I wont be able to come in today. Family emergency, uh, yeah I'll get the document for you first thing tomorrow. Thanks, bye."  
  
Thom hung up and plopped down on the couch. He didn't expect John to show up so quickly, but then again he wasn't surprised. "Well have a seat John, this isn't an interrogation." Thom took another gulp of his coffee and set in on the coffee table. "You don't know that." John said. He hadn't smiled once since he came into the house. The pleasantries were done and it was time to get some answers. "What do you know about my mother?"  
  
Thom's pleasant demeanor faulted as he crossed his arms and replied, "Right to the chase then, alright John. I was sorry to hear about her passing. Your mother babysat me when I was a kid, right here in this town. I was with her the night..."  
  
"He came home." John finished Thom's sentence. "Ah so she told you everything." Thom asked. John looked at the pictures of Thom and Kara and the boys. "She told me enough, that her brother killed his sister when he was six and that he escaped from a mental hospital to try and kill her when she was a teen." "But she escaped." Thom added. "Yes, she faked her death back in 87' and moved to California, changing her name and life to try and start over." John frowned at the thought of his mom's history.  
  
Thom noticed and asked, "John how old were you when you moved to California?" "I've lived there since I was a baby. I lived with my dad until I was eight, then my mom came and I moved in with her." "She left you in California when she was here?" "Yeah, my dad always told me that when they were together, she was barely capable of handling the relationship, then when I was born, she couldn't handle it so she moved back to her hometown. I guess that's here."  
  
Thom sighed, "John, did she ever tell you about someone named Jamie Lloyd? Did she ever mention that name?" Thom was piecing together what Laurie had done but John was still a few steps behind. "No, I don't remember her ever mentioning that name. Up until I was a teenager, she was kind of distant. Then when I turned fifteen she became very protective of what I did." Tom thought a moment, debating whether or not to tell him.  
  
John eagerly asked, "Why? Who is this Jamie Lloyd? Does she know my mother? Can she help me find out where Michael is!?" John stood up, his voice raising, "Thom tell me, who is Jamie Lloyd!?" "Thom looked up at him and replied quietly, "Your sister."  
  
John felt dizzy, had he just heard that? His sister? He didn't have a sister, he couldn't. His Mom would have told him, wouldn't she?" John fell back into his chair and sat there numbly.  
  
Thom took this as a sign that he was listening, "John, I know this is a lot to take in. Two years after Michael Myers came after her, she had a child, Jamie. She gave her up to adoption though and had her birth documents sealed in 1987. Right before she faked her death. You would have been about the same age as your sister I assume, about six or seven. You probably wouldn't remember her. I assume she wanted you both safe, from her brother. Where her 'dead' brother wouldn't find her. But he wasn't 'dead' either. He had survived the fire at the hospital, barely. He spent ten years comatose in a mental institute. By then you would have been about eight, same as Jamie. Laurie probably came for you then, since you were technically only the son of Keri and Raymond Tate."  
  
John listened intently as his mind worked out his mother's deception. "So Jamie was adopted?" he asked. Thom continued, "Yeah, she was adopted by a family by the name of Caruthers. Laurie must have thought Jamie was safe now with the adoption papers in order and the birth records in hiding. No way Michael could find her or her daughter, or you for that matter." John quickly replied, "But he did find me and my mom six years ago, he tracked us all the way across the country, Jesus Christ."  
  
John was still somewhat in shock but now he wanted to know more about is sister. "So where is she? Jamie, I have to meet her, she didn't get to see mom for all these years, my god what if she doesn't even know mom's dead?" John was babbling when Thom cleared his throat, "Uh, you can't see her John. She uh, well, she died nine years ago. Michael Myers murdered her. Don't you see why I had to find you? Michael is after all his living relatives and."  
  
"I'm the last." John stated bluntly. His eyes were slightly moist with tears. His sister, he never even knew her and she was dead. Michael, that bastard. John was pulled from his thoughts as Thom stood up and walked over to the fire place. He looked up at the family photos on the mantle and looked back over to John, his lips quivering. "Your not the last John. The night Jamie was killed was October 30th 1995. Right after she gave birth to her son. My son, Stephen Doyle."  
  
John jumped out of his chair and ran to Thom's side as Thom continued, "I found him, he doesn't know he's not Kara and mine. We haven't told him anything about Michael or Jamie." John ran his hands trough his hair as he absorbed all this shocking news. "Your not his dad? Then who is?" Thom winced, "We don't know."  
  
Haddonfield High school  
  
Dan sat in his English class as the teacher rambled on about Shakespeare. He wasn't paying attention, he was too busy drawing in his notebook, horrible drawings of death and destruction. The art of a depressed teenager. His teacher Ms. Harris noticed and announced to the class, "Daniel, pay attention, this stuff is on the final and if you want to pass your really going to need a good grade on this test."  
  
"Sorry Ms. Harris" Dan blushed as his classmates snickered. His girlfriend Jessica turned around in front of him and gave him a mocking look, "God Danny, your such a delinquent. Your lucky your parents haven't shipped you off to military school." She laughed, he stuck his tongue out at her and laughed back. Dan returned to his drawings while Ms. Harris continued.  
  
Ms. Harris turned to the rest of the class and said, "Now in the play, Shakespeare is trying to convey what through his main character? Don't think too hard, what is the basic message in Antigone? Jesse raised her hand. "Yes Jessica."  
  
Jesse cocked her head back as she answered. "Well, Antigone has basically lost everyone she loves either by death or betrayal. Her father Oedipus made mistakes in his past which she now is suffering from. I think that Shakespeare is trying to say that misery spreads. That if one person makes mistakes like Oedipus did, his whole family will pay. I mean, Antigone is basically Oedipus part two only with the rest of his family. His misery spread to his two sons and daughters, particularly Antigone who eventually died as the end result of a series of misfortunes caused by her father."  
  
Ms. Harris looked impressed, "Please enlighten the class Ms. Taylor, what was the root of all this misery." Jesse smiled, "Easy, everyone tried to deny the truth. I mean, if you think about it. What Oedipus did to his father and mother ruined all three of them, then he starts a family himself. The only problem is he was still so screwed up after killing his dad and sleeping with his mom that he couldn't possibly handle his own family. No one except Antigone herself wanted to except their father's sins, so they resorted to alternative means to deal."  
  
Dan heard Jesse's reply and thought about his own life. If only she knew. The bell rang and students gathered their things to leave. Ms. Harris took the opportunity to remind the class, "Remember your one page typed reaction is due on Friday, you shouldn't have a hard time remembering since it's on Halloween." Jesse and Dan headed to the door when Ms. Harris stopped them both, "That was a very insightful response Jesse, I'm glad you've been able to add such perspective to this unit." She turned to Dan and added, "As for you Mr. Strode, I really hope you will take this opportunity to get some help from your girlfriend. You're barely passing and I don't want to have to call your parents again regarding your grades."  
  
"Ok." was all Dan mumbled as the two began heading for the door again. Ms. Harris stopped Dan just as Jesse walked out, "Go on Jesse he'll be just a moment. "It's ok, I'll wait." she smiled. Ms. Harris went to her desk and gave a concerned look over to her student. Such a bright student yet so unwilling to try. "Dan, I know you haven't had the easiest childhood and I realize this might be a bad time of year for you but I really think you should talk to her," she motioned out into the hallway where Jesse was chatting with some passing friends. "She really cares about you it seems, and you should consider letting her help you." Dan forced a half smile, "Thanks Ms. Harris, I'll do that." He walked out the door and headed over to Jesse.  
  
Haddonfield University  
  
Sara Moyer rushed through the hallways of Haddonfield University. She couldn't believe she was running late, and today of all days. A speaker was coming to class, a renowned criminal psychologist. Sara knew she could get some good information out of this presentation for her thesis. Serial killers, they had consumed her life over the past two years. Sara had studied cases like Dahmer, Gacy, Bundy and Gein but none of them could take her fear away from the one she had met, Myers. Rather than become a recluse running from fear, Sara embraced her fear in order to stop men like Michael Myers, or at least to understand them.  
  
She rushed into the auditorium as students finished grabbing their seats. She found a seat just as the professor began, "I am very pleased to introduce a very prominent criminal psychologist, and former student of mine who I hope can give you all some helpful insight on the field. Ladies and gentleman, Dr. Lindsay Wallace." The class clapped as a woman with long black hair walked over to the podium and shook hands with the professor.  
  
Lindsay flashed a charming smile before beginning, "Thank you for inviting me to this lecture today. I have been in this field for about six years and I must say it has been very interesting. Many of you wish to enter the field of criminal studies. Whether you want to be a cop, therapist, psychologist like me, CSI, or detective, you are going to need to understand the mind of the man, or woman you are after." Dr. Wallace began her presentation as Sara listened intently.  
  
Meanwhile  
  
Dan sat in the cafeteria with Jesse and his best friend Miles Barton. After hearing about what happened to him and how he helped save a girl's life from Michael Myers, Dan found himself liking Miles the outcast. Miles didn't know about Dan's past or his brief encounter with evil though. Dan had tried to block that whole year out of his head, from his family, his friends, even himself at times. He refused to go back to that dark place. One reason he would cut would be to remind himself what would happen if he remembered his past, Pain.  
  
Jesse was the only one who knew about Dan's feelings on the subject. They didn't hide anything from each other. She had been his anchor to sanity for the past three years. She was there two years ago when he had stumbled across the local news highlighting a massacre at his old house. She had been there when he realized Michael was still alive and on the loose. She was there for him when he had his nervous breakdown afterwards and had swallowed a bottle of pills. Their relationship was strong and she was his light in his darkened world.  
  
"Hey doofus can I have a French fry?" Jesse pinched his cheek and giggled as she helped herself to the contents of his lunch tray. "Ah, such a giving man huh Dan?" Miles laughed as Dan threw his empty milk carton at him. "Seriously though, we gonna go out Friday night for some well deserved fun or what?" Miles needed to get out this weekend, he wanted to have some fun this Halloween, some clean free fun with no consequences.  
  
Dan had other plans, "You guys seen Scott yet?" Miles rolled his eyes at the mention of his ex friend now turned crack addict. "Are you serious? I don't know where he is, probably in juvenile hall again." Miles didn't really hang out with Scott anymore, ever since his friend had found the "joys" of drugs. What he didn't know was that he and Dan had formed a very profitable relationship.  
  
"He's probably out behind the auto shop across from the hardware store. That's where he always hangs out nowadays with his other junkie friends." Jesse added dryly. She had known Scott Keyes since kindergarten and they used to be friends but now he was always acting like total jerk to her and Miles. "He's not a junkie." Dan defended. "I gotta go find him. He's got some of my CD's. I'll see you two later and we can talk about getting together Friday night for some partying." Dan got up and ran out of the cafeteria out the side door.  
  
Jesse and Miles looked at each other confused, "I think he's having an affair." Jesse scowled. Miles lifted an eyebrow, "With Scott!?" Jesse slapped Miles' shoulder, "No dumb ass." Jesse grabbed another French fry from ?Dan's tray. "I think he's got a drug problem." Miles replied as they continued eating.  
  
Jesse looked at Miles and smirked, "So are you still hanging out with Sara these days?" Miles blushed at the mentioned of his two year old crush. Sara was so oblivious and to her they were still just friends, better friends now that he had helped her. "Sara's just a friend, we don't talk that much anyways, only online when we can. She's busy with school."  
  
Jesse nodded with a mocking smile, "Uh huh, sure...you are so whipped." Miles whined back, "I am not! Were just friends, besides she's a junior in college and I'm only a junior in high school. It could never work." Jesse patted his shoulder, "You know Miles, you are like the type of guy most girls want. Your practically gay! Uh, I meant that as a compliment." Miles rolled his eyes, "Gee thanks..."  
  
Dan waved at some kids as he headed towards the auto shop. He needed to see Scott so he could get his weekly supply of weed and maybe some crack. He found Scott out behind the Schools' garage smoking. Scott looked up and saw Dan, he smiled and said, "You Danno, where you been this week?" Dan coughed and looked around, "Yeah sorry I was gone on Monday, I was sick, so you got my weed man?"  
  
Dan was anxious to get back so Jesse and Miles didn't get any more suspicious. "Hey man what's your hurry, I got some tight stuff here man." Scott and Dan made their exchange in a hurry so Dan could get out of there. "Hey man tell that poser Miles he owes me twenty buck if you see him k?" Scott shouted to Dan as he tossed his cigarette stub aside . Dan shouted back, "Whatever! You probably owe him twenty bucks! Catch ya later." Dan ran up to the football field and sat down under the bleachers as he took out his lighter and lit up.  
  
Scott casually walked across the street from the auto shop to the local hardware store. He bought some spray paint and walked out to an alley behind the hardware store. He took out another cigarette and lit it as he shook the can of spray paint. Smoke wafted up from the cold alley floor. The leaves were almost done falling in town as winter lurked around the corner. The last holiday of the season was two days away and Scott thought of this as he used the red spray paint to draw a pumpkin on the side of the gray stone wall.  
  
Scott puffed away on his cigarette, unaware that a shadowy figure stood watching him, watching past him at the High School. It was Michael Myers back after two years of silence. He took a step towards the school as Scott continued his artwork. "Yeah man, a regular Picasso." He finished the Pumpkin graffiti and took a step back to look at it and what he'd written. 'Happy Halloween Haddonfield!' was spray painted under the pumpkin.  
  
Scott turned to toss his cigarette when he saw Michael out of the corner of his eyes. "What the fuck are you, the boogieman?" Scott laughed and dropped his paint can on the ground. Then he kicked it over to Michael who stopped it swiftly with his foot. Scott walked up to Michael, "Nice job, good likeness. But your definitely not scary enough punk." He walked off further down into the alley and swung up onto the side of the metal fire ladder attached to the building. Michael turned around blocking Scott's only way out of the alley. He slowly walked forward crushing the tossed cigarette under his foot.  
  
Scott reached into his pocket and reached for another cigarette only to find the empty box instead. "Fuck." he whispered. He hopped down from the ladder and swung the cover of a nearby dumpster open. He tossed the pack in and walked towards the street. Instead, he bumped into Michael who stood there breathing heavily. "Hey fuck off Casper I need to get another pack of cigs." Scott tried to shove through but Michael pushed him off onto the ground.  
  
Scott fell hard on his butt. He stood up angrily and sneered at Michael, "You fucker!" Scott hissed and charged back only to have Michael wrap his right hand tightly around Scott's neck. He picked up the squirming boy as he continued to walk towards the back of the alley. He threw Scott down in front of the ladder as the boy coughed and gagged.  
  
"No man! What...what the fuck!"He pushed Scott's head between the bars of the fire ladder, right in between the midsection of the ladder's two sections. Scott looked up in horror as Michael grabbed the top portion of the interlocking ladder and slammed it down onto the boy, decapitating him in one swift motion. Scott's body fell limp.  
  
Michael hefted the body up over his shoulder and grabbed the head with his free hand. He tossed Scott's body into the dumpster and threw his head in afterwards where it fell with a moist sounding impact. Michael slammed the dumpster door shut. He turned back and walked out to the edge of the alley, past the pumpkin graffiti. The paint had welled up at the bottom and was starting to run in streaks down the side of the wall. Happy Halloween Haddonfield screamed out from the wall, dripping with red paint as Michael heavily breathed through his mask.  
  
Michael watched across the street towards the auto shop where he saw Dan heading back to class. He watched silently as Jesse and Miles found him and they made plans for Halloween night. Michael squeezed his hand into a fist causing his knuckles to crunch. Two more days and he would strike. He turned and headed back, vanishing into the alley's steam. The calm before the storm.  
  
TBC 


	4. Storms

Hey guys, hope you liked the last chapter and seeing Michael back in business. The next few chapters are going to continue having characters meet up and discover their links to Michael. He will show up again in this chapter and then again for a large portion of the story since most of it take place on Halloween night! lol  
  
Chapter 4: Storms  
  
"So in conclusion, the field of forensic science and criminal psychology is very interesting, but you'd better be prepared to work hard if you want to make it in any of these fields. Thank you for your time." Lindsay concluded as the auditorium roared with applause. She smiled and bashfully crept off stage. She was a fairly quiet person and wasn't used to all that attention.

Lindsay had come back to this town for two reasons, first off she wanted to do this presentation. The main reason however was that she had spent the last four years following in the footsteps of Dr. Samuel Loomis. The man had dedicated his life to stopping the evil that is Michael Myers. Although his passion ultimately consumed him, Loomis was on to something at the time of his demise. He had discovered something which he took to his grave and Lindsay was determined to find out what.

Lindsay had traveled all the way to California after Laurie Strode had decapitated that paramedic. She interviewed Laurie at Grace Anderson, well, she tried to. Laurie would not speak to her. She wouldn't speak to anyone, not even her son John. Then Lindsay learned of Laurie's apparent murder by another patient. She knew it wasn't another patient though, it was too easy. She followed a trail of news clippings which all surrounded the Illinois region, particularly Haddonfield. Her home town. She had loved that town up until she was eight. The night her house had been turned into a morgue. The night she lost her babysitter and her friends. The night she met Michael.   
  
She had only seen him for a brief second but it was enough to still haunt her today. She knew after reading all the headlines that he was still alive. She had discovered his pattern of hunting his family lineage and spilling relatives' blood. All she needed to understand was his reason for the crimes he committed. He had to have a goal, a main agenda. She knew Loomis had discovered that back in 95' before he died. It may very well have been what killed him.   
  
She had tried locating her old friend and fellow survivor Tommy Doyle but he had hidden himself after 1995's Haddonfield massacre. He was back now, she needed to find him because she had a feeling he would have some valuable information.  
  
Lindsay thought deeply, zoning out almost when a hand patted her shoulder causing her to jump. "Oh! Sorry, I um, my names Sara, Sara Moyer. I just wanted to say that I am a big fan of your research, your books have really helped me get where I am right now." Sara gushed as Lindsay laughed, "Well thank you very much, that's uh, very kind. You know I'm sorry, you just look so familiar. You know, I got it! You were that web cam girl."

Lindsay stuck her foot deeper into her mouth, "Yes, yes, I remember reading about you. Local girl survives internet web cam murders. That was two years ago right?" Sara looked away biting her lower lip, "Uh, yeah two years ago on Friday. I um, well yeah I've read a lot about your studies on Michael Myers and it's very fascinating."

Lindsay smiled and replied pleasantly, "Well, someone like you must have much more insight into a case study as uh, unique as his. Tell me, would you let me interview you about your experiences in the Myers house, it would really help me in my upcoming book?" Lindsay was nosing her way into trouble and she knew it. "Um, maybe sometime but I really need to get to my next class. It was really nice meeting you Dr. Wallace." Sara quickly shook Lindsay's hand and made an uneasy smile, obviously forcing herself to be pleasant.

Lindsay watched her intently as she gathered her bag and huddled out the door, looking back just as she disappeared into the hallway. Lindsay was here for a reason. Not for stupid lectures or interviews. She was here to find Michael, to learn about what Dr. Loomis found. She needed to talk to all of the people he had contact with. Michael too, anyone who had seen Michael and lived to tell about it was important for her studies. She needed to know.

Lindsay's stare was interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone. She answered, "Hello? Oh, yes Doctor I did meet her. Uh-huh, she's well, in denial but, yes, yes she did. Yes I'm going to speak with her later. John Tate? He is! He's with Tommy Doyle? Are any others in town too? I see, Thank you very much. I'm heading back there now. I'll be in touch Doctor." Lindsay hung up and looked around the empty room, she thought about what she was doing back in this town. She thought a moment then gathered her bag and walked out of the room.  
  
The afternoon bell rang signaling the end of the school day. Stephen ran out of his classroom and gathered his coat and lunch box out of his cubby. Stephen was excited as his birthday was in two days. He was excited about going trick or treating with Dan and he wanted to find a scary costume. He ran out of the building and found his mom waiting in the van. She smiled and waved over to him. He waved back but froze as he noticed a man in the background across the street, hiding in the trees. A man in a black trench coat and hat.

The man looked over to Stephen and waved pleasantly. He signaled for Stephen to follow and he began walking towards the man. He was drawn towards this person for reasons he didn't care to understand. He took a blind step into the street and just barely missed getting smacked by a leaving school bus when his mom yanked him back by the collar. "Stephen what are you doing! Be careful you know your supposed to look both ways before crossing the road and your not supposed to go by yourself!"

Kara knelt down and brushed his hair. She saw his transfixed gaze and snapped her fingers a few times t get him back. She smiled, "Hey, what were you doing anyways?" Stephen looked confused and turned back to the trees, the man was gone. "I was just going over to play in those leaves" he said simply, smiling. "Well you can play in the leaves at home now come one, lets go." They got into the car and drove off. Kara was concerned. Her first born had attention problems at this age too, was it something she was doing wrong? She thought about her Danny, remembering how he had been when he was that age. It wasn't happening again was it?  
  
Thom kept his gaze on the road trying to avoid making eye contact with the stern man next to him. He could see John's fierce glare looking down into nothing. He wasn't seeing anything except his own mind, projecting images of his mother's funeral. It had been a sunny day, John remembered because it had rained the days before and after the ceremony. He hadn't been to a graveyard since then, he's avoided the sight of them in general since they reminded him of burying his mother. Thom tried making conversation, John could tell the man was feeling awkward.

They reached the town graveyard, actually it was at the outskirts of town right at the border of Haddonfield and Langdon. "We're here John." Thom was trying to be pleasant but he knew this wasn't going to be easy. John followed the path Thom was setting as they made their way past the endless tombstones. Thom finally stopped and turned to the left. He looked back at John who was waiting. Thom whispered, "There. It's over there." He pointed over to the left, a small hill with a few trees shadowing it.

John looked over at the single gravestone hidden under the orange and red leaves. Beams of light shone on the marble. John stood frozen staring about twenty meters away from them. His expression reminded Thom of Stephen when he was scared to go to his room until Kara checked under the bed. God, this man standing next to him, was Stephen's uncle. Thom shivered as the realization of the situation grasped him.

Thom looked around at this graveyard. How many of Haddonfield's residents had been buried here. How many had been laid down to rest by their families because of one man. This town's curse, Michael Myers. Thom looked at the names around him, Rachael Caruthers, Sheriff Ben Meeker and his daughter Kelly, Kara's parents and brother. Thom glanced over to John, he was slowly making his way forward. John felt helpless, he hadn't felt like this since he was twelve when his mom and he were in a car accident and she had to have surgery. Sitting in the waiting room had been hell and he felt utterly useless to stop anything then, just like now.

John walked up to the gravestone and knelt down to it. He read the inscription, Jamie Lloyd 1980-1995. John put a hand over the words and closed his eyes. Thom stood in the background watching this troubled man say his goodbye to a sister he had never met, never even knew had existed. "I've seen enough, I want to leave now please," John said quietly. Thom understood and they headed back to the car just as a few droplets of rain began to fall. Thom tried to break the tension, "We'll be back by about four. Stay for dinner John, you could get to know Kara and the boys, Stephen..." "Ok." John cut him off with a simple reply. Nothing more was said, they drove the rest of the way in silence.  
  
Kara pulled into the driveway with Stephen and looked out the window to see her friend and neighbor Diane. Diane was struggling with a few grocery bags and Kara got out of the car to help her. Stephen got out of the car and gathered his backpack He headed over to help his mom and her friends. "Hey Stephen, how was school today?" Diane smiled sweetly. Stephen smiled meekly, "Hi Ms. Hopkins, school was good today." He took one of the bags from the dark haired woman and she turned to Kara, "You have such a polite son Kara, are you all ready for his birthday?" Kara brushed some hair out of her face and glanced at Stephen, "Yeah we're all excited. Thom and I have been working on the party arrangements."

Kara turned to Stephen, "Why don't you go into the house and put Diane's bags on her table." Stephen nodded and walked past Diane who called after him, "Thanks Stephen, you know the way." Diane turned to Kara and could tell she was upset about something, "You ok? Let me guess, you're having your mid-life crisis." They laughed and Kara responded, "Oh god, I had that years ago. No, I'm just a little worried about Friday. I don't want anything to go wrong and I just have a bad feeling." "Kara, you always have a bad feeling this time of year. Its fine though, nothing ever happens, why should this year be any different?" Kara sighed, "I don't know, I just-"

Diane cut her off, "You just need to relax, go out for dinner or something, have some champagne with Thom and have some fun away from the kids." "Oh I couldn't leave them!" Diane was determined, "Yes you can, go out on Friday. After they go out trick or treating they can come over to my house. It'll be fine Kara, you deserve a break especially this time of year." Before Kara could object further Diane was off back to her house to get Stephen, "I'll see you later Kara, call me if you need anything ok?"

Kara crossed her arms and looked around the driveway. The weather was breezy and the sun was setting earlier and earlier these days. She watched the red leaves brush down the street as neighbors put up Halloween decorations. She remembered her family, dysfunctional as it was, and gazed out into space. All that counseling, all the medication, stress relief, maybe all she needed was to get out and take her mind off of things.

She looked back and saw her son walking up to her all smiles. He has no idea of his history, the circumstances of their meeting. And he'd never find out, she wouldn't let him know the horrible truth about his family. They headed into their house just as the school bus came to the bus stop across the street.  
  
Dan got off the school bus with Jesse and they waved to Miles who was still on the bus. As Dan and Jesse walked, Dan thought about the coming weekend. He needed to get out of the house on Friday, he didn't want to be stuck walking Stephen from house to house begging for candy. He had plans with Jesse and Miles to go out partying. Now he just had to get out of babysitting. "This is my stop, gimme a kiss dork." Jesse smiled as Dan leaned in and kissed her.

They parted ways and Dan walked alone with his thoughts. His mom was always so stressed out this time of year, he knew why but it was still hard to deal with. As Dan walked past a patch of trees he could have sworn he saw someone walk through them. He stopped and stared but there was no movement, he shrugged it off and continued onto his house. He didn't notice the pale features of a man or it's black eyes staring at him as he entered his home.  
  
Thom and John got to the Doyle residence at around four. "Kara, I'm home and I want you to meet someone." Thom called out from the doorway. Kara entered with one of their cats Zoe. "Oh hey, Yes we've met already. Are you staying for dinner John?" John looked at Thom who nodded and replied, "Uh, yes if it's ok Mrs. Doyle." Kara laughed, "Mrs. Doyle, you'd think I'm in my forties, it's Kara, I insist. Dinner should be done in a half hour." Thom walked over to Kara and motioned for them all to sit down at the dining table.

"Where are the boys hun?" Thom wondered. Kara looked around, "Well Stephen is in his room working on homework and Dan said he was going to be going over to Miles so he should be leaving shortly." Thom looked back and forth then motioned forward and said in a hushed voice, "I think there's something you should know about John."   
  
Lindsay walked down a long white corridor, her steps echoing down the hall. A few nurses passed her and she greeted them. She made her way into her office where she took her long beige coat off and set her purse down on her desk. She pushed a button on her answering machine and began checking her messages. "Hi Lindsay it's mom, just wanted to see if you were coming up for thanksgiving this year, Dad and I have missed you, call be back."

Lindsay smiled and read through some papers left on her desk. "Dr. Wallace, it's Wynn. I need you to take another look over the Myers file. There's still been no luck in finding the patient. We're using all of our resources to locate him but if there's anything you can find it would be most helpful to us." Lindsay collapsed in her chair and turned on her computer. "Hi um Dr. Wallace? This is Sara Moyer from Haddonfield University. We met today, I was wondering if you were still interested in that interview..." Lindsay got a gleam in her eye and gave a sly smile as she listened to the rest of the message.  
  
Kara and Thom served dinner to Stephen and John. They all smiled awkwardly except for Stephen who's smile was legitimate, he hadn't discussed the history of a madman and how he had destroyed the lives of everybody he met. Stephen just sat eating his meal totally engrossed in his own thoughts of his birthday, Halloween, and that strange black clad man he'd seen outside of school. Kara sat forcing a smile for her son's sake, she was just glad Dan had left already because he could always tell when she was faking pleasantries, and he always called her on it.

Thom sat there laughing with them as he struggled on the inside with the thought of his son being related to that monster. He also couldn't believe he was eating dinner with the nephew of that same monster. John looked at the family before him, yearning to have that with his love, Molly. He missed her so much, he wanted to climb into bed with her and snuggle up and lose himself in her eyes. He needed to call her later and check up on her. He needed to grab his cell phone after dinner.

As the four of them ate dinner and made small conversation, Dan was busy at Jesse's house. They were making out on her bed when the phone rang. He bit her lip gently as they rose and she answered the phone. "Hello? Oh hey Miles, yeah everything's fine, Dan's here right now. Ok." She handed her boyfriend the phone, "It's Miles, he wants to talk to you." Dan took the phone, "Yeah Miles what is it? Friday, with Sara? As in Sara your crush? Yeah she can come if she's not doing anything. Yeah, at 7:30. Ok, yep. Bye."

Dan hung up the phone and smiled at his girlfriend. "Miles is bringing his college friend, think he's gonna make a move or something, he's such a dork." Jesse frowned, "He's not a dork, he just has a crush." Dan snickered, "For the past two years? It's not gonna happen Jesse. Anyways, forget him what about us? Let's get back to what we were doing..." Jesse laughed, "Your such a perv, but I love you. Call me crazy." "Crazy." Dan whispered before they locked lips again.  
  
Molly walked down the flight corridor from the plane out into the airport, she was exhausted. She hadn't even eaten breakfast before getting on the flight that morning. She knew it didn't matter though, she just wanted, needed to see John again. He'd be so happy to see her that it would totally make her hellish flight here worthwhile. She hadn't even brought a suitcase with her, just her purse and cell phone. She walked outside into the cold night and sat down on a bench.

She pulled out her cell phone and dialed John's cell number. It rang a few times before his voicemail came up. Damn, she thought to herself before leaving a message for him. "Hey babe you'll never believe where I am! I flew out here to Haddonfield to see you but I'm kind of stuck at the airport and it's raining so could you please call me back? I'm going to call a cab and get a room at the nearest hotel ok? Call me soon! I love you." She hung up and stared at the parking lot and all the cars out there.

Rain flooded the curb as she tried to signal for a cab. No luck, none were in the area. She went back into the airport which was practically empty now. She went over to an information desk where a pretty young lady stood at her computer. "Excuse me miss, do you know where I can find a car rental agency here? Or a cab or something so I can leave?" The woman turned to her and smiled as she replied, "Well, phone lines are down right now due to the storm. It's so bad we had to cancel all other flights! Looks like you landed just in time I guess. There's a nice little motel across the street if you go out the exit on the other end of the terminal."

Molly thanked her and turned back to the automatic doors which opened and closed as the last of the people from her flight left the airport with friends and family. She huffed as she turned to the other side of the terminal. She could see the exit sign glowing in red way off in the distance. She was already pretty tired and what she needed was some sleep. She could find her husband to be in the morning and since the chairs in the waiting area here weren't comfortable at all, she decided to head for the motel.

Molly walked down to the other automatic door and looked down at her low cut California blouse. Perfect to wear in this kind of weather she thought sarcastically. Great she thought, but she could always take a hot shower once she got a room. Then she could climb under some warm covers and dream about John. She stepped outside and stood in the cool rain. It wasn't that bad but she was getting soaked so she started running towards the motel which she saw across the empty street ahead of her.

She tripped over her heel however and tumbled to the wet ground. She swore to herself and stood up groggily, her head a little sore from her fall. She looked around her and saw an empty black van in the parking lot with its driver door open and the engine running. She wandered over to it out of sheer curiosity and peered in. Nothing out of the ordinary. "Ok Molly, too tired to play around, you need sleep and lots of it." She turned back and looked at the vacancy sign next to the hotel, blinking on and off in neon pink letters. She smiled and went to take a step again when she tripped a second time. She managed to catch herself though and just said, "Fuck it." as she took her shoes off.

Just as she was kneeling down to un-strap her other shoe a knife blade slashed quickly and deeply into her back tendon. Molly screamed in surprise and agony as she fell to the ground again. Her bare foot began leaking blood onto the black top. A hand beneath the car was grasping the blade which had cut Molly's foot. She turned on to her back and saw a man under the car. She screamed and rolled onto her stomach trying to push herself up with her arms. The man slid out from under the van. He stood behind it out of her sight. She crawled away from the van and managed to stand up. She started limping on her good leg.

She turned around and saw her attacker slowly step out from behind the van. He stood in damp overalls and his mask dripped with rain water. "Oh my God!" Molly screamed as she saw Michael Myers slowly advance towards her. She began limping and hopping as fast as she could to get to the street and call for help. Stranded in the empty parking lot she looked back at the van and saw that Michael was gone. She looked back to the road and the motel beyond it, then she turned and looked on to the airport. She was a good distance from the airport but it was closer than the motel and she was losing blood fast. She turned back to the airport and started limping back.

The cried in pain as she collapsed next to the van. She was on the ground looking under it when she saw a pair of dirty boots on the other side of the van. She trembled as she looked on under the van. The boots began walking away and Molly used all her strength to push herself up into the van and climb in. She slowly, ever so slowly closed the van door with out making a sound. The rain poured as Michael walked around the van peering into the tinted windows. He couldn't see into the vehicle, that much Molly could tell as she looked on in horror, only a few feet separating her from that horrid mask.

She looked at the inside of the van and noticed the car was still running, she reached down the gear shift and grasped it. She reached down and used her arm to push the break down so she could shift gears. Her back was to the drivers door and she glanced down at the gear shift with a determined look on her face. She glanced back up at the passenger window to see if Michael was there but he had vanished again. Molly struggled with the gear shift but it was stuck. Molly started to cry.

Just then the drivers door was yanked open by Michael who grabbed the screaming girl by her slashed foot and pulled her out of the car. He tossed her onto the ground where she cried and tried to catch her breath. He yanked her up to her feet by her long blond curls and threw her at the van door. She hit her head on the driver door window and screamed as her face began to bleed. Michael slammed the door shut and picked her up again. He tossed her by her hair a second time, harder. She went flying into the door, her head bashing against the window which now had a few cracks.

Molly screamed again as he pulled her back and used his other hand to push her as she was thrown, her head actually breaking the door window. Her face was bleeding badly as her head went smashing through the window. Glass flew all over the ground and car interior. Michael pulled her back and rested her neck on the window bottom now jagged with splintered glass fragments. "No!" She whined as Michael pushed her down onto the glass which pierced her throat, blood began to mix with her saliva as her teeth turned red.

Michael then violently slid her head from the left side of the window bottom where it was pushed down to the right in one fast motion. The ridged pieces of glass from the shattered car window ripped Molly's neck open. Her mouth gaped open as her arms and legs fell limp against the door. Her mouth stopped moving as her eyes glazed over, she looked like a fish out of water with her mouth open, blood dripping from her throat down onto the door where it began to drip down in gentle streams.

Michael pulled the body back by the hair and opened the door, then he threw her in the van. He pushed Molly into the passenger side and she fell in a pile on the seat, blood still spilling from her mouth and neck slowly. Michael watched for a second as the heavy rain washed the blood down the street, taking away any evidence of his presence. He got into the van and slammed the door behind him. The engine still hummed quietly as he pulled the gear shift into drive. The van pulled out of the empty parking lot and disappeared down the road as the rain continued to wash away any trace of Molly's blood.  
  
Ok sorry it took me so long to update guys but I've been busy, I hope you guys liked this chapter and for any Molly fans sorry I offed her already but I hope your at least happy to see Michael back. Only one more day till Halloween and his triumphant return. Oh boy, wait till the protagonists meet him again!!! Hehehe....I have a lot in store for you guys as the story continues so keep reading and keep sending those awesome reviews my way :D  
  
LanternLizzard


	5. Russian Roulette

Hey gang I am working out the kinks in my storyline and the next few chapters are going to be more character driven (listens to groans) I know, I know but you cant learn to care for them until you get to know them more. Don't worry Halloween is in one day in the story and then all hell breaks loose, trust me. I got a lot of stuff in store for you guys and the characters. Keep rooting for Thom, John, Lindsay, Kara, Dan, and Stephen but don't forget about ole' Michael cuz he's the star! Keep reviewing, I'm dying to hear what you are all thinking!   
  
~Lantern_Lizz  
  
Chapter 5: Russian Roulette   
  
Thursday October 30th   
  
John slowly opened his eyes and yawned. He really had needed a good nights sleep and  
  
the bed in this guest room was terribly comfortable. John casually sat up and stretched, his  
  
lean body cracking in several places, he turned from the right to the left and jumped. Stephen was sitting in a chair right next to the bed watching John. John looked at him for a moment, this child; his nephew; was a tiny pale little boy with the deepest eyes. He had a piercing gaze that made John shiver briefly.   
  
He shook it off though and greeted the little imp. "Hey Stephen, do your parents usually let you spy on the guests?" Stephen smiled and chirped, "We don't get many guests till now! My birthdays tomorrow you know, I'm going to be nine! Are you going to come to my party John? You should, we'll have cake and ice cream and a piñata!" John laughed at this little boys exuberance and replied, "Well I suppose I could hang around till then. Now I don't want to be rude but I need to shoo you out of here so I can get changed and ready." Stephen jumped out of his chair and ran to the door, he looked back and pouted, "Everyone always kicks me out of their room, Mom and Dad and especially Dano. You better hurry up, Moms making eggs!" He trotted out of the room as John got out of bed.   
  
He wore nothing but his boxers and quickly closed his door so no one else would walk in on him. He noticed a freshly ironed outfit draped over the chair Stephen had just been sitting in. John walked over and picked up, it was warm. Kara must have grabbed one of Thom's shirts and a pair of pants. She seemed pretty nice, John hoped he and Molly would be as happy as Thom and Kara are someday. Someday.   
  
  
  
Lindsay walked into Smith's Grove Sanitarium as she folded up her damp umbrella. "This must be monsoon season, Christ it's gonna flood I swear." She said to Dr. Wynn as he finished signing a paper for a nurse. She walked off clip board in hand as Wynn greeted Lindsay, 'Dr. Wallace how nice to see you. I hope driving conditions weren't too tedious for you." Lindsay took her gloves off and handed her umbrella to the Doctor who kindly excepted it. "This weather isn't going to let up before tomorrow is it?" They walked down a long corridor as they chatted. "I want to talk about today's plans, we have a busy two days ahead of us. Today you need to make contact with the Doyles and especially the Doyle children. I cannot stress how imperative it is that you make initial contact with them today." Wynn spoke as Lindsay rummaged through I file she had pulled out of her coat.   
  
They made their way to the elevator and Wynn pushed the down button. As they waited Lindsay apprehensively questioned, "I understand Doctor but do you think it is the right time? I mean Halloween is tomorrow and with the weather conditions, maybe we should wait until November, just to make sure…" Wynn coughed to cut her off then added, "Dr. Wallace I have strict orders from the governor. We are to collect any and all new data on the Myers case and everyone it involves which means locating all hot spots, collecting evidence," "and interviewing all survivors, yes I am aware of that doctor but I'm afraid of the repercussions an interrogation of this nature could have, especially at this time of year." "Any repercussions will be dealt with after we collect our data Dr. Wallace. Now I have found the addresses of the Doyles and the Moyer girl. You did make contact with her yesterday correct?" Lindsay glanced up at the white haired man and answered quickly, "Yes I met her yesterday at my meeting at the university." "Good, our sources have also discovered that The Doyles have made contact with John Tate. He is also involved and must be interviewed."   
  
The elevator opened up and they stepped in. Wynn pushed the button labeled basement. "Lindsay, I understand your hesitation. Myers has been missing for two years and with all of the survivors of his repeated massacres returning to Haddonfield, your worried he'll come back too." Lindsay looked at him and nodded, "Exactly, I mean he has devoted his entire existence to killing these people." Wynn cut her off, "No, he is only after his relatives. The rest of them are only people in his way. He only seeks members of his lineage which means our top priority is locating and protecting John Tate and the youngest Doyle child." The elevator came to an abrupt stop and they stepped out. Dr. Wynn led the way as they walked past nurses and orderlies escorting mental patients to their cells.   
  
"Do you know how long this building has been standing her Lindsay?" Lindsay followed him and flinched as a patient was pushed past her by a guard. The patient laughed and looked at Lindsay, she flicked him off. "About 70 years as I recall." Wynn smiled as they walked, he folded his arms behind him and looked around, "83 years to be exact. Back in 1921, this place was built as a hospital but was quickly renovated into a mental institution when Haddonfield Memorial was constructed. I've worked here for over 40 years. Dr. Sam Loomis was a close friend of mine as well as my colleague. You know he spent most of his career chasing Michael Myers. I see now you have taken up where he left of Lindsay."   
  
Lindsay listened as she thought about her career choice and what led to it. "I just want you to be careful ok? I don't want to lose another colleague to Myers. I know you've read Loomis' manuscript as have I but he didn't know Myers as well as he thought." Lindsay interrupted, "And you do Dr. Wynn?" Wynn stopped and turned to face her, he drew near and said with a stern look, "I'm not saying that but if Loomis had known Michael well enough he wouldn't be dead." They walked into the high security ward and signed in for the guards. "Welcome to hell…" Lindsay mumbled to herself as they made their way down to an empty cell. "This is were we kept him Lindsay, for 15 years he sat here waiting. We had to move him from the children's ward after several incidents with other patients. This was his home and he knew how to bide his time. This cell is strictly off limits to all personnel except me because I don't want to awaken any demons lying dormant in that room. Michael's evil may have been born in his house when he stabbed his sister, but this is where it grew until it escaped." Wynn led Lindsay past the cell. She shivered as she walked past it, thinking of all the evil its former resident had caused. "I need to give you the bios on the last survivors, addresses contact info etc." Lindsay followed Wynn back to the elevator and they left the cell behind.  
  
John entered the kitchen where Kara was making breakfast. She looked up from the stove where she was frying some eggs and smiled ever cheerfully, "Good morning John how was your night? Did you sleep well? Go ahead, sit down. I'm making eggs." John smiled and sat down. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and started checking his messages. He heard one from Molly and smiled as he listened. "Oh Shit!" He shouted, Kara whirled around shocked, "Excuse me!?" John blushed and got up, "Sorry Kara, I uh, its Molly. She's here, in town. She got here last night, I have to go get her! You have to meet her, you'll love her." John got up and walked out of the kitchen leaving Kara staring blankly in disbelief. She wondered if he was always that abrupt abut things.   
  
John made his way to Thom's office where he was reading his emails. "Thom man, I need a ride to the airport." Thom looked up in surprise, "Your leaving? But what about tomorrow and Stephen and I thought," "Its Molly, we need to go pick her up, she's there, well actually she's at the motel right next to it." Thom gave a sigh of relief as he listened to John ramble. "Sure we can go right now and bring her back for breakfast." John beamed, "great!" As they left Thom quickly ran into the kitchen to give Kara a quick kiss. "We're going to pick his girlfriend up ok? Set another place at the table." Kara smiled, "Well, ok but hurry back, I need to get Stephen off to school." "We'll be quick hun! Love you!" Thom shouted as they left.   
  
Sara parked her car along the curb next to the Bartram household. She was such a dork but she couldn't help but admire Miles, after all he did save her life in a way. She went up to the front door and rang the bell. Miles opened the door in his pajamas, an undershirt and blue boxer shorts. He was brushing his teeth. He saw her and freaked out, "Sawa! Ow, sowwy my mowf…" He ran into the house and spat in the bathroom sink. "Sara come in, sorry bout that." Sara laughed and stepped in, she closed the door behind her. "In as hurry? Didn't your alarm go off this morning?" He laughed back, "No it didn't, and my parents are always too busy in the morning to get me up." Miles was trying to pack his bag, talk to Sara, and not make a fool out of himself at once.   
  
Sara walked over to Miles who was swishing some mouth wash in his mouth, "Miles, Tomorrow is Halloween, and I was wondering if you would…." she trailed off unsure how to continue. Miles spat out the mouth wash and walked up to her, unaware that he was still in his boxers. "Yeah?" was this the moment he had hoped for? Where she proclaimed her love for him. "Will you come with me to an interview?" Miles hope crashed. He went over to his bedroom and closed the door just leaving a crack so they could still talk. He started changing as he spoke, "Sure what's it about? Does it have to do with the Dangertainment website? Does that Freddy guy want you to go into another killer's house because I swear." "No, its actually a woman named Lindsay Wallace, she's a criminal psychologist who wants to talk to me about my experiences in the Myers house."   
  
Sara opened the door just a crack more so she could peer inside. She sneaked a glance at Miles, watching him change shirts. She wondered if he had a clue about her feelings. "Yeah I can come with you, when does she want to meet with you?" He turned around and Sara ducked back behind the door, she blushed and quickly responded, "She didn't say but I called her yesterday and we scheduled an appointment for today." Miles opened the door and walked right into Sara. They both savored the intimate contact then jumped back and blushed. "Well, I'll be free after school so if you want to pick me up we can go then." "Great I'll pick you up at three and we can meet her at four." Miles grabbed his back pack and they headed out the door together. "Ok, it's a date." Miles groaned after he said that. A date? What a stupid thing to say! Miles walked with Sara to her car and she smiled at him, "Your such a lifesaver, I don't know what I'd do with ought you." She gave him a hug and he melted in her arms. She didn't want to let go either but she did. "Don't wanna miss your bus." She pointed behind him and he looked to see kids getting one the bus across the street. Miles took off after it and looked back waving, he stumbled and turned back towards the bus. Sara giggled to herself and got into her car.   
  
Dan sat in the passenger seat of Jesse's car as she hummed to the music on the radio. He gazed out the window as per usual thinking about everything and nothing. "What's your problem Dan? I said I'd help you with your report tonight ok? Are you ok?" Jesse was concerned for her boyfriend but she didn't let on, she always tried to play it casual. "I'm ok Jess, its just there's this guy staying with us now and I get the feeling something bad is going to happen with him here." Dan huffed, he had gotten used to a bigger family with Thom and Stephen joining their family but now this John guy was staying with them and his house was getting a little cramped. Dan worried about how his parents had reacted to the initial meeting with John. He could tell something was up and it made knots in his stomach. He tried blocking it out but something was eating away at him, telling him something was about to happen.   
  
Terrence Wynn sat in his office watching Lindsay leave the floor. She turned back and waved and he gave a pleasant smile. When she turned back to leave his face returned to its cold demeanor. He picked up his phone and dialed a number, "Hello Hoffman? Have you gotten that background check on Dr. Wallace yet? I want to know everything there is on her. And make sure we've made all preparations for tomorrow night, I don't want anything going wrong. Yes that's right, I can give you clearance for any sealed documents so don't worry about it. Just leave it to me. Don't let anyone screw up Hoffman or it will be your head! None of them can survive tomorrow night except the Strode boy. Yes that's right, none of them."   
  
Wynn hung up the phone and opened a file on his desk. He rummaged through an assortment of news clippings, articles, and photographs taken by hidden surveillance. There were articles dating back to 1963 about Judith Myers' murder. Pictures of Laurie Strode as a teenager, as a headmistress, and as a sanitarium pictures. Birth certificates of Jamie and her son as well as Michael Myers and Daniel Strode. Wynn pulled out the picture of John Tate, "Well Mr. Tate, looks like your time has finally come. Hope your prepared to learn all the answers you've been craving." with that Wynn pulled out his cigarette lighter and lit the bottom of the photograph. He smiled. His eyes content and strangely excited as he watched John's picture warp and blacken.  
  
Lindsay got into her car and ran her hands through her hair, she was more than a little agitated. "He's such a creep." she said to herself thinking of her conversation with Wynn. She turned her car on and drove out onto the freeway. It was about a forty minute drive back into town and Lindsay remembered she had to run by her office to pick up a file on John Tate before she went to the High School and talked with the Strode boy. She couldn't help but feel a little underhanded in all this. Meeting these people and using their statements for data on Myers, that's it. She had read and reread Loomis' manuscript on his practice and she couldn't help but wonder if there was an ulterior motive to all of this. Why would Wynn choose now of all times, just a day before Halloween , to lure all of the massacre survivors back to Haddonfield?   
  
Lindsay turned on the radio and listened to the local radio station, "And this is Stevie Wayne with you Haddonfield, good morning and happy Halloween Eve. Tomorrows the big day boys and girl, the night when this town parties! So get the toilet paper and shaving cream cuz tonight's Devil's Night. We have a storm coming at us Haddonfield and it should be in full blast tomorrow night just in time for trick or treating. Hopefully this year our masked mascot Michael Myers wont be returning, its been two years since he last showed up in town and police are on watch for any sign of the boogieman. Give me a call at 1-800-968-7825, that number again is 1-800-YOU-SUCK we'll be on the air all day so give us a call and ask for Stevie Wayne, I'll be playing all the oldies in honor of this harvest season."   
  
Lindsay listened and remembered the last time she celebrated Halloween. The night her life had been put on stand still, she had stopped believing in ghosts and monsters 26 years ago tomorrow. She stopped believing because she had met a real monster, a force of nature driven by the inner evil in us all. She remembered being taken back to her house after the paramedics wheeled out the blanketed bodies of her babysitter Annie and her friends. Her house had been turned into a crime seen, a blood stained house of horrors. The Wallace's moved away soon after and her childhood home became the towns newest spook house. "That's were he went, that's were he killed all those kids!" that's what the kids would say.  
  
Now Lindsay was back in her hometown to try and give other survivors a fighting chance. She hoped that with the new information she collected from them, that she and Wynn could find a way to stop Myers. She tried to convince herself she was doing a good thing, trying to help her town, but somehow she couldn't get rid of the feeling that she was about to shoot herself in the face.  
  
John and Thom arrived at the airport and went inside up to the flight schedule chart. They went up to an attendant and John asked, "Excuse me miss, could you tell me if a flight came in last night from Santa Monica?" The attendant checked her computer and replied, "Yes a flight came in late last night just before all other flights were cancelled due to weather conditions. Are you looking for a passenger?" John walked off before the woman could finish speaking. "Hey wait up! So do you see her? I doubt she would have slept here, she probably went to the motel across the street." John walked down to the other end of the terminal and exited into the back parking lot. He saw how empty it was and noticed the motel across the freeway now busy with cars.   
  
  
  
John started walking across the parking lot with Thom following close behind. John stopped as he felt his shoes crunching "Hey what's the hold up?" Thom asked as he bumped into John who was kneeling down. John crouched down and looked at the broken glass scattered across the ground ahead of him. He peered forward and caught something out of the corner of his eye. "What is it John?" Thom asked as John got up and walked over to a nearby bush where he stuck his hand in a puddle by the drainpipe. He picked up a strapped high heel and held it close to his face. "Molly…" John whispered to himself.   
  
Thom looked over the younger man's shoulder and saw him holding the shoe. "John?" he asked worriedly. John whirled around and gasped, "This is Molly's shoe! She was here, why would this be here! Where is she!?" John started sweating as he began pacing from area to area calling out for his fiancé. No, she was fine, she just lost it in the storm that's all, it had to be, she was at the motel sleeping in like she always did. John felt sick, he tried to push those comforting thoughts into his brain but all he could think about was Michael Myers, about Molly and about her alone out here last night.   
  
"John snap out of it! It'll be ok, we'll check the motel and if she isn't their then we'll" "She's there! She is, she has to be." John ran across the street almost being hit several times by oncoming traffic. Thom followed close behind waving to traffic to stop. They ran into the motel and John screamed to the clerk, "Molly Carmichael, is there a Molly Carmichael staying here!?" The clerk quickly flipped through his guest book and mumbled an answer, "Fraid not mister, no Carmichaels in the book." John grabbed his cell phone and shakily hit the messages button, he started to breath quickly as he heard Molly's voice over the phone, "I'm kind of stuck at the airport and it's raining so could you please call me back? I'm going to call a cab and get a room at the nearest hotel ok? Call me soon! I love you" John felt nauseas as he hung up the phone. He raced out of the motel and ran to the curb where he abruptly threw up. Thom ran to his side and patted his shoulder, "Hey its ok, that doesn't mean anything, maybe she went to another motel." John looked up with tear stained eyes as he wiped his mouth and spat, "You don't really believe that do you?" Thom went over to the crosswalk and pushed the button, when the light turned green they dashed across the road back to the airport parking lot. "We'll go to the police station. We'll go and we'll talk to sheriff Benson and we'll find her John. We'll find her." They got into the car and drove off.   
  
Lindsay had to swerve to avoid hitting the young man who had raced across the road as she was driving. She had been so consumed in her own thoughts that she hadn't noticed him running until he was right next to the hood of her car. She pulled over immediately and watched him race into a nearby motel. She recognized him, as her blinkers flashed on the side of the road she quickly flipped through her files. "It's him!" She looked up and watched as another man turned and waved at the cars in the road. "Tommy?" she gawked. She took her camera out of her bag in the back seat and started snapping photos of the two men. She watched curiously as John ran out of the motel. She watched as he knelt down and vomited. She watched as they left the parking lot and then she pulled back onto the road and followed them.  
  
~TBC 


	6. Mr Sandman

Chapter 6: Mr. Sandman   
  
John drove madly down the freeway, going well over the speed limit. Thom clutched his seat as he silently prayed for the safety of his car. "Where's the Sheriff's station! We need to file a missing person report." John was trying to keep his composure but he was losing it fast. Molly, god what was she doing here in the first place! She came to see him, and now she was gone. Where was she? "John keep your eyes on the road!" Thom shouted. John swerved and narrowly avoided driving into oncoming traffic. As they drove frantically Lindsay was doing her best to stay behind them. She was trying to get her cell phone out of her purse and call Dr. Wynn. She saw Thom's car turning on the off ramp and she grabbed the steering wheel with both hands and exited the freeway with them. Where were they going and why had John looked so upset? Lindsay's mind raced as she followed them, finally seeing them pull into the parking lot of the local police station.   
  
John stormed through the front entrance and quickly walked up to the front desk. An officer was filing some paper work when John interrupted him, "I need to speak with the Sheriff immediately." The officer looked up and saw the serious look on the man's face. "What's this about? The Sheriff's a busy guy." John slammed his fists down on the counter, "I need to see him now it's a matter of life and death!" The officer stood up and crossed his arms, "Your going to have to make an appointment sir." Thom walked over from behind John and asked the officer kindly, "Is there any way he'd see us right now? It is quite important, we need to file a missing persons report." Just then they heard a robust voice ask, "Who's missing Thom?" John and Thom turned around and saw a large man in his mid forties walk out from the back office. "Oh Sheriff, I'm glad we found you. This is John Tate. He's the son of'" "Laurie Strode." The three men turned and looked at the woman who had just spoken. Lindsay was walking towards them when John looked to the Sheriff, "Sir, my fiancé is missing, she flew here from Santa Monica last night and left a message on my cell phone. I was supposed to pick her up but when I got there she was gone." The sheriff scratched his head, "And?" John looked to Thom and then to the woman standing next to them, "And, I think something's happened to her. She never checked into the hotel she said she was going to stay at, and I found her shoe in the airport parking lot."  
  
Thom had been listening to John reason with the sheriff but his attention had mainly been focused on this woman. He recognized her but he wasn't sure from where. Lindsay looked to the sheriff and remembered she hadn't caught his name, "I'm sorry sir I've been rude, I'm Dr. Lindsay Wallace. And you are?" The Sheriff smiled and took her hand, shaking it, "Sheriff Mark Grayson, can I ask what your doing here first of all and second, how you knew who this guy was?" Sheriff Grayson pointed to John who was also looking at her confused. Thom finally recognized her, along with hearing her last name. "Lindsay!" He rushed over to her and gave her a hug which surprised her given his bad timing. She laughed and looked at the Sheriff and John, "John, I new your mother and I've been looking for you actually." Thom smiled gleefully as he looked to the Sheriff and John, "Mark, John, this is an old friend of mine. We go way back, god Linz I haven't seen you in like fifteen years!"   
  
John was growing impatient, no one was making an effort to try and help him find Molly. "Hey! This can wait, I need to find Molly now! Who do I need to talk to, to file a missing persons report?" Sheriff Grayson took the initiative as Thom and Lindsay broke their hug, "That would be me son, now what did you say your fiancé's name was? Molly?" "Molly Carmichael. She's 23, about 5' 3" curly blonde hair." John was trying to maintain his polite demeanor but this was really making him nervous. He knew something was up. It was October 30th and tomorrow was Halloween. Weird shit like this didn't happen this time a year to him as a coincidence. It was Michael, John knew it but still tried to suppress that knowledge. "Ok, come with me Mr. Tate, we'll get you some forms to fill out." Sheriff Grayson looked back to Thom and Lindsay and smiled, "Thom, always a pleasure. Dr. Wallace, nice meeting you. If you'll excuse me." He walked back into the office with John.  
  
Thom and Lindsay walked outside the station and over to Lindsay's car, "Lindsay what are you doing in Haddonfield? I thought you lived in Chicago. You're a Doctor now! That's great, what's your practice?" Lindsay smiled and replied, "Psychology. Criminal psychology to be precise. I moved up to Lowe's Creek a few years back, its close to Ridgemont Sanitarium where I work." Thom caught his breath, "Ridgemont? You work there? What have you been up to these past years Lindsay." Lindsay took a step forward and spoke in a low tone, "Thom, I cant tell you much but, I learned a lot from reading the work of Sam Loomis. You knew him didn't you?" Thom turned pale, "Yes, yes I did, we met briefly before he died. Lindsay what does he have to do with you? Are you working on the Myers case!?" Thom looked at her in shock as she nodded, "Yes I became part of that ongoing investigation back in 1998 when Laurie Strode was arrested. I never got a chance to meet John Tate until now but I had sessions with his mother. After she decapitated that paramedic she slipped into a type of catatonic state. She never spoke, never moved, just sat, just like Myers did when he was at Smith's Grove as a child. Thom, she was a blank slate. I tried for three years to get through to her but it was like I want their, like the whole room was gone, all that was in existence was her and her brother. Thom, Myers work isn't finished, I believe that John Tate is His last living relative and that he's in danger. Have you checked your calendar lately?" Thom looked back at the police station and then turned to Lindsay, "He's staying with me and my wife and kids, he came here from California because of Myers and his mother, if anyone knows he's in danger, its him. Lindsay, we need your help. I have to help John but I also have to protect my family, I don't want them involved in any of this." Lindsay took out her wallet and handed Thom her card, "I understand, here, call me if you need anything. I think we should set up an appointment to talk, bring John too, I need to speak with him as well." Having said that, Lindsay got into her car and pulled out of the parking lot. She waved at Thom then drove off leaving him contemplating the situation he had found himself in.   
  
Miles walked to 4th hour with a huge grin on his face. He had just had a chat session with Sara and they had made plans to go out with Jesse and Dan tomorrow night. He knew this was it, he was going to tell her how he felt. She'd understand, maybe she'd even go out with him. He was eighteen now and even though she was like 22, the age difference wasn't that big. Besides, he's helped save her life. They had a bond. Miles was so excited that he didn't notice Dan as he walked by him. "Hey Miles! What the hell, wait up!" Miles turned and saw his friend catching up with him. "Oh, sorry man, I didn't see you." "Yeah I noticed, your head was up in cloud 9, why are you so happy?" Dan followed Miles up the stairs as they headed for class. "I just talked to Sara, she and I are going to go to the park tomorrow night, then were going to meet up with you and Jesse here." Dan smiled and punched Miles in the shoulder, "You dork! You think your going to get lucky!" Miles frowned, "It's not about that, I'm just happy to get to hang out with her. So hey, why did you want to hang out her tomorrow night anyways? I mean, wont the school be closed?" "Nah, Truth is Ms. Harris want me and Jesse to come in after school for tutoring. I figured we could give her the slip and sneak out the back then we could head down to the tower farm or something to party." "The tower farm huh, heard that place was the local make out point in town." Miles smiled, but inside he felt a little sick, he'd be there with Sara. "Oh Shit!" Dan smacked himself in the head. "What is it man, run out of condoms for Jesse?" "No you loser, I forgot. I have to take Stephen trick or treating tomorrow night." Dan hit his head against the wall behind him and gave a huff. "Well, maybe its better, we shouldn't be nosing around that abandoned barn anyways." Miles was disappointed but at the same time relieved. "No way man, Were going up there, its gonna happen. It's just that Stephen spent all day yesterday convincing my parents to let him go and they only agreed if I took him, so I'm stuck. Unless……" Miles groaned, "No Dan, just drop it don't try and pull one of your schemes." Dan laughed, "No scheme Miles, just a great idea. I'll take Jess and Stephen to school with us for tutoring. Then you and Sara can come and we'll Tell Ms. Harris that I have to take my little brother out trick or treating. She'll understand, she's such a pushover." Miles laughed but defended his favorite teacher, "She's not a pushover, she just likes to help her students." Dan rolled his eyes, "Yeah whatever Miles. I gotta go, this is my class. See ya later man." Miles waved and continued on to his class.  
  
Kara was sipping coffee when Diane brought out a tray of food from the kitchen. "Here Kara, I made some sandwiches for us." Kara looked up and smiled as she set her coffee down. Kara enjoyed these daily visits with her friend. Diane had been a close friend of the family for years and after Kara's parents had died, Diane sort of took the woman under her wing. They Sat and ate lunch in Diane's living room and gossiped for a while. "Kara, are you going to take my advice and go out tomorrow night with Thom?" Kara tilted her head and smiled, "You know I Diane, I think I will. Thom and I haven't had a date in months. Your sure you don't mind watching Dan and Stephen when they get back from trick or treating?" Diane laughed, "Of course not, we can watch a scar movie and make popcorn or something. It'll be fun." Kara smiled, enjoying the pleasant calmness of her life. She had no idea it was about to be turned upside down.  
  
Dan rode the bus home and said hi to his mother just as she was leaving to go pick Stephen up. John was sitting in the living room on the phone. He smiled at Dan as the boy entered the house. "Thanks Sheriff, call me if you find out anything ok? Bye." John hung up and saw Dan getting a soda from the fridge. "How was school?" Dan shifted uncomfortably, he was home alone with John wasn't he. He still was getting to know this man and didn't really want to get stuck in a conversation with him, "It was fine I guess. How was your day?" John took a breath and forced a smile, "It was tiring." Dan looked at the man and could tell he had no energy left. He was obviously upset about something and Dan thought he knew what, "You know him don't you." It was a statement more than a question and John looked at Dan as the blonde teen sat down on the couch next to him. "Who?" John asked, he knew the answer but didn't want to admit it. Dan grew serious as he answered, "the boogieman." John turned pale and closed his eyes thinking immediately of his mother, "We've met. He um, he's my uncle." Dan's eyes widened, "Woa, that sucks." John laughed dryly, "Yeah, it does. Family reunions are a bitch." Dan smirked at the comment. They sat there in silence for a moment until Dan asked, "He's coming back isn't he?" Dan was trying to be tough but his eyes gave away his fear. "John saw this, it matched his own expression, "I don't know." Dan looked down, the fear in his eyes settling, "But if he does, we'll be ready for him." Dan looked up, "You think so?" John nodded. Dan got up and walked to the stairwell, he looked back to John grimly, "I hope so. Evil doesn't die." Dan turned back and walked up the stairs to his room where he closed the door. John sat there silent.  
  
Thom had been at work picking up some paperwork. After he had taken John back home, he went back to the office. He was on his computer researching the history of Haddonfield and all it's grisly secrets. "1963.….1978, 88, 89, 95, 2002, I know all of this. I must be missing something." Thom remembered what Lindsay had said about California and typed in: Laurie Strode, then he deleted it and typed: Keri Tate. He searched around and read up on the events at Hillcrest Academy in Summer Glenn. "Soul survivors John and Keri Tat, Ronny Piper and Molly Carmichael…..Keri Tate arrested after murdering paramedic under false identity, Myers still missing." Thom continued to read. He typed in the search engine: Thorn cult. "1995, mysterious deaths linked to Myers at Smith's Grove Sanitarium. Hospital temporarily closed down." Thom remembered what had happened after they Loomis' body had been found. Thom and Kara tried telling their tale, about Wynn and Jamie and Michael, but the staff worked with the media to discredit both of them. Thom cracked his knuckles and neck from left to right. His eyes were strained from looking at the computer monitor. He went back to the search engine and typed: Dr. Lindsay Wallace. She was missing piece of the puzzle. Thom needed to know her role in all this. He read aloud, "Laurie Strode murdered by fellow Patient, Harold Clemmens arrested pending investigation led by Dr. Lindsay Wallace of Ridgemont Psychiatric Hospital." Ridgemont, that's were Michael had stayed comatose after the 1978 massacre. Lindsay worked there now, Thom was starting to understand. Lindsay was following in Loomis' footsteps.  
  
It was 9:00. Kara, Stephen, Dan, Thom, and John ate dinner in somewhat of a dismal mood. Dan worried about tomorrow, taking Stephen trick or treating and hanging out with Jesse and the others. John still worried about Molly. Kara worried about leaving her babies tomorrow night and Thom thinking about Lindsay and her connection to Loomis and Ridgemont. Stephen was also worried. He had seen that black clad man again at school today during recess. The man spoke to him, "Come to me Stephen, come join your family." Stephen was confused by this as his family was right here.   
  
Sara sat in her dorm room alone with the lights off and candles flickering. She was looking at a picture of her, Jen and Rudy. They all looked so happy, Jen was making a funny face and Rudy was giving her rabbit ears. They were both dead now. Jen had been decapitated and Rudy had been nailed to a door. Sara had mourned them but wanted to remember the good times right now. Tomorrow was the two year anniversary. She would spend it with Miles and she had made up her mind about telling him that she really did love him. She knew it, that was comforting. She had checked her email earlier, after her last class. It was from Freddie Harris, that money hungry Dangertainment bighead who had led her friends blindly to the slaughter. She didn't blame him though, he just wanted to make entertainment. He sent her his condolences and told her he was hosting an online memorial for the others tomorrow night. He wanted her to watch because he thought it would help her. She had deleted the email in anger but then thought about it. They deserved it, the memorial. It was the least Freddie could do for them.   
  
"Goddammit! How the fuck we gonna get this show going if my sponsers aint gonna get the funding for it! I'm telling ya Macky, I got a great Idea this year!" Freddie walked around in his Dangertainment computer room bitching on the phone. He was trying to get the go ahead to do another live web cam project. "Hell yeah Macky, Check it out boi, We take em to the old Cotton house in the Brits, you know the one were all them murders took place in the eighties? What do you mean it was torn down, Aw mutherfucker. Ok how bout this? Broadcast live from the old Good guys factory where that Charlie Lee Ray went R.I.P. A parking lot!? Well, suck my junk, they made it into a parking lot how bout that." Freddie went back to his list of ideas for scandalous areas to do a live internet reality show. "I aint talkin bout no mutherfuckin Bates Motel shit Macky! I want the real deal this year, last years Woodsboro shite went down the drains. Ooooh, the old Morgan ranch, damn you good Macky, Alright, gimme a holla when you get the papers signed." Freddie hung up the phone and smiled to himself pleased. This year was going to be huge! He went to his monitor screen and checked how the memorial was progressing, "300 hits woohoo!" Freddie clapped as he watched the hits continue to rise. He didn't even notice the man behind him until he heard the clanging of his silver tipped boots echoing on the hardwood floor. "What the fuck yo! Now who da hell are you?" Freddie stood up as the stranger stepped forth from the shadows. It was Terrence Wynn, wearing his long black coat and boots,. He looked up at Freddie from under his black hat and smiled, "Mr. Harris. How's business today?" Freddie grinned and looked back at the monitor as hits went up. "Mr. Wynn I-" "Doctor, Doctor Wynn Freddie." Wynn corrected the man. Freddie lifted an eyebrow, "Of course, Dr. Wynn, to what do I owe this unexpected surprise?" Wynn stepped forward carrying leather bag, "I came to see if you had done as I asked." Freddie nodded, "Yes sir, I made the memorial for the Myers house victims as you asked, very kind thing your doing for that town Dr. Wynn." Wynn smiled, a false smile. The poor schmuck didn't have a clue did he. "Thank you Mr. Harris, we all just want what's best for the residents of Haddonfield." Freddie shifted and asked, "So about your investment in Dangertainment, I must thank you for increasing your donations. Dangertainment couldn't exist if you and you Hospital hadn't paid for me and my employees." Freddie was truly thankful that Wynn had allowed him to create his reality net project. He remembered that Wynn had even sponsored the Myers house live broadcast two years ago. Terrence Wynn laughed, "Well, I guess your work is complete Freddie." Freddy laughed along with Wynn. What was he talking about? Freddie was confused, "What do you mean Doc, Hey I got this awesome new idea about another broadcast we can do this week, we can send the contestants to the old Morgan Ranch and leave them there for seven days after watching-" Freddie stopped talking as Wynn pulled a gun out from his coat pocket, "Woa what the fuck man!?" Wynn glared at the frightened man and soothingly inquired, "Didn't they tell you Mr. Harris?" Wynn pointed the gun at Freddie, who was holding his hands up in surrender. "Dangertainment has been cancelled." With that blunt statement, Wynn shot Freddie in the head. Freddie fell to the ground, blood trickling out from the hole in his forehead. Wynn walked over the body and peered over the blood spattered monitor. He smiled as he watched the hits continue to increase on the Myers Massacre Memorial Page. "You'll come to us Michael, I know you will because their waiting for you." Wynn went over the a nearby table and starting packing mini head cameras, tapes, and security surveillance equipment into his leather bag, then he left the building.  
  
~TBC  
  
*Authors Note: Hey everyone. Hope you liked this chapter. I didn't want to initially include Freddie in this story at all because I hated his character in Halloween: Resurrection but I thought, you know I can kill him! And it plays really well into my story and were it's going. Please keep on reviewing! I only have like 5 or 6 reviews so far and I really would like some more feedback from you guys.  
  
-Lantern_Lizzaed 


	7. Samhain

Disclaimer: I don't own the Halloween series or the characters except the ones I invented.   
  
Author's Note: Pleeeease review guys, flames welcome as well but try and be civil.  
  
Chapter 7: Samhain  
  
October 31st 2004  
  
  
  
"And in other news the digital entertainment world mourns the loss of upcoming   
  
internet king Freddy Harris who was shot and killed last night in an apparent   
  
robbery. Police are still looking into.." Sara turned the T.V. off and stared at the   
  
black screen for a minute.   
  
Freddy was dead and all she felt was numb. She got up and ran to the bathroom where she started to throw up.   
  
She was just washing up and reorganizing herself when there was a knock on the door. She walked over to the door and answered it, it was Miles. "Sara, I uh.." Miles was trying to tell her something and she already knew what, "Freddy, I know. I saw it on the news."   
  
He walked in and placed a hand delicately on her shoulder. She broke, she fell into his arms and started sobbing, "Why does everyone I love die! Why!?" He held her and soothingly replied, "Its ok Sara, you haven't lost everyone, I'm still here." She looked at him and wiped away her tears, she forced her self to calm down and smiled, "I know."   
  
He smiled back and stood in the doorway as she plopped in her computer chair, "Well, come in dork." He laughed and stepped in closing the door. "I want to thank you for coming with me to Dr. Wallace's office yesterday, it really helped that you were there." Miles blushed as Sara thanked him, "Hey, no problem." He thought about the appointment, it had been….weird.   
  
"Hey, how'd you get here? it's a long way to campus from your house." Sara waited for an answer. Miles blushed, "Well, I asked Jesse if we could stop by so I could see how you were doing. She's waiting outside."   
  
Jesse sat in her car and looked at her watch, "C'mon Miles, school starts in 15 minutes…" looked in her rearview mirror and smiled as college students walked to their classes, that would be her in a couple of years.   
  
Her whole life was ahead of her but still, Jesse was finding her attention drawn to her boyfriend. She had noticed a drastic change in Dan's behavior ever since that peculiar John Tate had come to his house.  
  
Jesse rummaged through her purse and found a piece of gum. She stared vacantly out her driver window as she blew a bubble. She zoned out, thinking about college, Dan, her life and his place in it.   
  
Then she noticed something odd, a man was standing in the far ends of the campus, partially hidden under a large tree. The shadows obscured his face but she got a feeling, like he was watching her.   
  
She focused on the man, she could only partially make out a face, only it wasn't really a face, it was, wrong. Jesse got a shiver when a loud knock made her leap out of her skin.   
  
"Hey Taylor open the door!" Miles waited as a spooked Jesse unlocked the door and let him in. "What's the matter with you?" he asked. Jesse turned and looked back to the tree but the figure was gone, "Nothing I guess, just my imagination." She pulled some hair from her face. Miles put his seatbelt on and drummed on the dashboard as Jesse turned the car on. She glance outside once more before she drove off.   
  
Sara walked into the dorm bathrooms, towel and shampoo in hand. "Hey S&M!" Sara turned around and smiled dryly, "Hey Ellie." S&M, that's what Ellie called her, Sara continued on to the showers as her giggling friend followed, "Where's your puppy?" Ellie jumped as she asked.   
  
Sara grimaced, "Miles isn't a puppy, he's more like a kitten." Ellie laughed, "How long are you going to string him along?" Sara blinked, "I'm not stringing him along, were friends. Good friends."   
  
Ellie rolled her eyes, "Please, your orgasm friends or haven't you let him run threw the bases yet?" Sara smacked Ellie on the shoulder, "You big slut, not everything is about sex Ellie. Miles is sweet, he's special." Sara smiled as she spoke, casually twirling her hair.   
  
Ellie made a mock gagging sound as she stuck her finger down her throat, "Oh spare me the Dawson's Creek bullshit. Look, I gotta get to Trig, I'll catch up with you later ok? Bye S&M." Ellie twirled as she bounced off, leaving Sara to contemplate her innocent friendship.   
  
She stripped down and entered a shower pulling the curtain back behind her. She turned the faucet on and adjusted the temperature. Sara closed her eyes and let the warm water wash over her body.   
  
She thought about her life, about her friends who had died, about Miles. She thought about Michael Myers and wrapped her arms around herself as she got cold. Those black eyes, so relentless. He truly was the perfect killing machine. Sara thought about the date.   
  
It was the Devil's day to play and she had a bad feeling. Myers had escaped two years ago, he was out there and she knew he's be back. She only hoped she wouldn't be caught in the middle of his return.  
  
Lindsay drank a cup of coffee as she typed up her report for Dr. Wynn. Her initial interview with Sara Moyer had been successful and today she had plans to speak individually with John and Thom.   
  
She needed to give them as much help as she could to find John's girlfriend. Just as she was finishing her last paragraph the phone rang. Lindsay answered it, "Hello?" "Hi Dr. Wallace? This is John, John Tate."   
  
Lindsay stopped her typing and swirled around in her chair to face her filing cabinet. "Yes John, this is a surprise. Are you alright? Did you find Molly yet?" There was a pause on the other end, then John responded, "No, not yet. Sheriff Grayson put out an all out alert for her, he thinks she might have been kidnapped." John stifled the urge to scream.  
  
"John, listen to me. We will get her back. Don't lose faith. Now, what can I do for you?" Lindsay opened her filing cabinet and pulled out the file on Laurie Strode as she spoke. "Are you there John?" John responded, "Yeah, I'm here. You're a psychologist right? Well, I could really use some therapy, are you free today to talk?"   
  
Lindsay rummaged through the file and found a recorded interview she had had with Laurie, "Well, yes I suppose if you need to talk. Why don't you come down to my office, or better yet, why don't we just meet somewhere in town." Lindsay scanned through the session notes as John responded, "Ok, that's great um, why don't we meet at the park. What time works for you, I know its early."   
  
Lindsay checked her watch, it was already nine, "The park is fine, just give me a couple of hours to finish my morning appointments. How does eleven thirty sound?" "That sounds fine, ok I'll see you then, thanks doctor." Lindsay smiled, "Your welcome, bye John."  
  
She hung up the phone and walked over to a locked cabinet near her door. She pulled out a key and unlocked the first shelve. She opened it and dug through a series of filed meeting sessions.   
  
She found the one she was looking for and reached into the file and pulled out a tape labeled 'Strode: session 05-13-99' Lindsay walked over to a television set sitting on a counter near her desk and popped the tape into the VCR.   
  
The pushed the PLAY button and the screen came on. Lindsay watched a session she had with Laurie strode two years before her death. She had remembered something about John but she couldn't completely figure out what it was.   
  
Lindsay peered at the screen as the tape played. 'Laurie! Are you even listening to me? Your brother is still out there and we both know it. You know where he is don't you. Don't you want to help me stop him so he doesn't kill anyone else. We can stop the bloodshed together but you have to trust me.'   
  
Laurie sat vacantly looking out the window, she didn't respond and Dr. Wallace was agitated, 'Why do you hide yourself from the world, burying yourself in this little room. Your son could be in danger don't you care? I know you love your son but you have to be there for him. Don't you remember what happened to Jamie? You abandoned her and look what happened, she died alone without her mother there to help her. Do you want that to happen to John? Do you want your brother to get your other child as well?'   
  
Laurie closed her eyes tightly as a tear rolled down her left cheek Lindsay watched the screen intently and paused it as Laurie concealed her emotions. "I wonder if he knows…" She asked herself as she stopped the tape.  
  
Miles and Jesse sat in class listening to the teacher lecture when Dan came in late, "Daniel, do you have a pass?" Dan handed the teacher a pink slip and took his seat next to Miles, "Hey man, you feeling ok? Jesse told me we weren't picking you up today cuz you weren't feeling well."   
  
Dan ran his hands over his face and looked over to Jesse who was smiling. He could see she was concerned by the worried expression in her eyes. Dan folded his arms and looked back to Miles, "Yeah man I was feeling kinda sick earlier but I'm better now so mom gave me a ride after Thom left for work."   
  
Miles noticed Dan's hands were a little shaky, "Are you sure your ok, you look kind of pale." Dan settled his hands under his desk and whispered back, "I'm fine really, must be coming down with something I guess."  
  
Jesse watched her boyfriend talk to Miles and immediately knew what was wrong, she could tell by his anxiousness and shaky hands, he'd been cutting again. She cursed herself for not making him come to school. She should have known something was up when he just called her and said he wasn't coming to school, and on all days for Christ's sake.  
  
Miles noticed a red stain forming on Dan's sleeve, "Hey what the hell is that! Did you slice yourself?" Dan covered his arm and stood up drawing some attention from the other students and the teacher, "Daniel are you ok?" the teacher inquired as Dan headed for the door.  
  
Dan forced a smile and quickly replied, "Yeah I'm fine Mr. Williams I just need to run to the bathroom." He dashed out of the room before the teacher could argue. Dan ran down the hallway and turned a corner almost tripping and falling down the flight of stairs waiting for him. He was feeling dizzy and he was worried he had cut to deeply. He half walked, half fell down the stairs and made his way to the men's room.   
  
He checked if it was empty then closed and locked the door. He walked over to the sink and rolled up his sleeves, the blood on his fresh wounds was welling up and Dan quickly turned the faucet on and began to rinse his arms off.   
  
He wrapped some paper towels around his arms to stop the bleeding then he tossed them away and looked down at himself. His arms were pink with blood stains and the cruel slashes were glaring up at him. He winced as he noticed the severity of his injuries. He rolled his sleeves back down and exited the bathroom. He rested his back on the door and whispered to himself, "Why are you doing this to yourself…"   
  
"That's what I'd like to know." Dan whirled around and saw Jesse walking towards him with her arms crossed. She looked mad but also worried, "I thought we were past this Danny, I thought you had stopped."  
  
Dan looked away as Jesse approached him. She grabbed his arm with one hand and pulled his sleeve up. She gasped as she saw his cuts and looked up into his dark blue eyes, "Dan….baby. How long have you been doing this?" Dan looked to her and saw the concern in her eyes, he felt guilty now. "Only today Jesse, its just, I don't know…"   
  
Jesse brushed his bangs our of his eyes and soothingly responded, "I think I do, have you checked your calendar? It's Halloween." Dan closed his eyes and Jesse held him close, she knew he needed her right now but this was becoming harder and harder for her to deal with.   
  
"Eight years Dan, its been eight years, why would this year be any different?" She held him and waited but he wasn't answering. "Look, I know your upset about tonight, but Stephen is really looking forward to going out with you. We can hang out tomorrow night."   
  
Dan laughed, his girl was always being so selfless, "Its not that Jessica. I'm worried about tonight. John Tate, you know that guy staying with us right now?" Jesse nodded and Dan swallowed before he continued, "Well, he's Michael Myers' nephew. Something's up this year I can tell. My old house gets painted red two years ago and now the fuckers nephew is staying at my house, this isn't right, I can feel it."  
  
Jesse turned and walked a couple of steps, she was thinking. Then she turned around and marched back up to Dan, "Listen to me Daniel Strode, you have a loving family, a beautiful girlfriend, and your whole life ahead of you. I am not going to let you fuck that up because of some freak in a mask ok?"   
  
Dan stared at her in shock, it was the first time he had seen her take such an initiative, "Ok Jesse….I'll try and stay cool." Jesse leaned in and kissed him on the cheek before answering, "You better." She grabbed him by his sleeve and dragged him back to class.  
  
Thom got out of his car and walked into the police station. He went up to the front desk and asked the officer there if the sheriff was available, "Sure, he's in his office. I'll take you there." The officer led Thom past the jail block and into the back. They walked down a hallway and stopped at the last door, "Here you go." Thom thanked the officer before he walked off.   
  
Thom knocked on the door, "Mark? It's Thom, do you have a minute?" Thom waited before Sheriff Grayson opened his office door, "Thom, what's up?" They shook hands and Thom entered the office.   
  
"Thanks for seeing me on such short notice. Any luck yet on finding Molly?" Thom took a seat as Mark picked up his mug of coffee and took a gulp, "Sorry to say but no, were still looking for the Carmichael girl. Its been over thirty-six hours since she went missing but were trying our best. I've got officers searching all the way out to Hardin County, we'll find her."   
  
Mark could tell something else was bothering his friend, "Something else wrong Thom? Kara and the boys doing ok?" Thom smiled at the mention of his family, the most important people in his life. "There fine. Kara's been having nightmares but that always happens around this time of year. Dan's taking Stephen out trick or treating tonight and Kara and I made plans to go out for dinner but…"   
  
Mark waited for Thom to continue, "But?" Thom looked at Mark with a worried glance, "I'm not sure I want to leave the boys alone tonight. I mean, with everything that's been going on. John, Molly, I think it might be too risky to go out tonight and let out guard down."   
  
Mark folded his arms and thought a moment before replying, "Thom, how long have we known each other?" Thom looked at him, "About four years, why?" Mark slammed his hand down on the desk and shouted back in laughter, "Have you ever known me to slack of on my job!? Now if something comes up this year, me and my boys can handle it. I've got the best squad in six counties working here and if Myers does decide to show his mug round here, we can give him a nice farewell party."   
  
Thom laughed and got up. He walked over and looked at a picture of Mark and his wife and baby, "How's Grace? She and the baby doing alright?" Mark smiled and looked at his wedding band, "Yeah their doing good. Grace is still tired and all. Docs say she will be for a couple more weeks so she took some time off from work."   
  
Thom looked at The baby in the picture and remembered holding Stephen in his arms. He knew the responsibility that came with fatherhood now, "Yeah, I miss my assistant at work. Maybe I'll go visit her sometime with Kara. Once you guys are up to it the three of you should come over for a barbecue again."   
  
Mark laughed, "Kara and grace love gossiping about us don't they. Diane too, they've got there own little Ya-Ya Sisterhood don't they." Thom laughed. "I don't watch chick flicks but yeah they're pretty close."   
  
Suddenly a knock came at the door and a young deputy walked in. Mark and   
  
Thom looked up at him and Mark asked, "Yeah Henderson. What is it?" Henderson looked at them and slowly replied, "Sheriff, we need to get down to the cemetery right away. There's been an incident."  
  
Thom and Mark looked at each other and got up. Thom had a knot in his stomach now, this wasn't right. "Mind if I tag along Mark?" Mark looked back as he put on his coat and Sheriff's hat and shrugged, "Yeah sure, maybe you can help." They followed Henderson out the door.  
  
Kara was putting some dishes in the dishwasher when their cat Jonesy snuck up behind her and brushed up against her leg. She jumped, "Jeez! Oh, hey Jonesy, where's Zoe?" Kara wiped her hands off and picked up her furry friend. "Are you hungry hmm? Did Zoe eat all of your food, lets go find her."   
  
Kara walked out of the kitchen and wandered down the hall looking for Zoe. She stepped on one of Stephen's toys and cursed herself. "Shit. Stephen, how many times do I have to tell you?" She put Jonesy down and grabbed the toy. It was a truck, one of Stephens favorite toys.   
  
Kara went upstairs into Stephen's room and put the toy back into his little toy chest. She folded up some clothes on the floor and put them in the closet. She saw the light on his desk was still one and went over to turn it off. She noticed a notebook of his lying on the desk.   
  
Kara smiled and opened the notebook glancing through her son's drawings. She flipped through it and saw pictures of spaceships, superheroes and dinosaurs. Then she flipped to one page and her blood froze. She dropped the notebook and stepped back. "My god…" She ran out of the room and went straight for the phone.  
  
Back in Stephen's room a picture sketchily drawn was still face up on the desk. It was a picture of Stephen smiling and holding hands with a man in a long black coat and hat. The background had been scribbled with red crayon and looked like smeared blood.  
  
John had left the Doyle house about a have an hour earlier, he had wanted to walk to the park where he was meeting Dr. Wallace. He needed to get out of that house. He enjoyed spending time with Kara and they had gotten to know each other a lot but John was just too wrapped up in finding Molly.  
  
He sat down on a park bench and checked his watch, it was eleven thirty. Lindsay was running late. John thought about if this was really a good idea. He didn't really know much about her other than she was friends with Thom. Did he really want to involve her in all this, if something did happen tonight he didn't want her to be caught in it too.   
  
"Earth to John." John snapped out of his deep thoughts and looked up to see a pretty woman in a black sleeveless shirt and a white skirt. She took her sunglasses off and sat down next to him, it was Lindsay, "Are you alright John? You look as if you've seen a ghost."   
  
John laughed, "I've been seeing a lot of ghosts these past few years. It's not the dead that frighten me though, it's the living I'm worried about." Lindsay slipped her hand into her pocket and turned on a tape recorder before replying, "Well, we all see ghosts. So what did you want to talk about?"   
  
John looked at her and inquired, "You knew my mother didn't you?" Lindsay blinked, how did her know about her sessions with Laurie? He had stopped visiting her months before they started having sessions. John continued, "Didn't she baby sit for you when you were a kid?" Lindsay sighed, "Oh of course, that's right she did. I imagine you were quite close to your mother."   
  
John frowned, "I thought we were, but she hid a lot from me. Now I wonder if I ever knew her at all." Lindsay leaned in close to John and whispered, "Why are you here John? In Haddonfield I mean. Why have you come to this poor town?" John looked at her with a dark look in his eye, "I've come to learn about my mother's past and Michael Myers. Thom and Kara can help me."   
  
Lindsay looked away, thinking about all these people. John, Thom, Kara, Sara. Was this right? Was she doing the right thing by keeping them all in the dark. Exposing her true intentions would compromise the whole project and probably cost her her job. Still though, she felt like she was lying to these people who were looking to her for help.   
  
"John, do you think this year will be another bloodbath?" John turned pale and quietly answered, "I don't know." Lindsay opened her briefcase and pulled out a packet of papers. She read aloud, "1963, 1978, 1988, 1989, 1998, 2002. Why would this year be added to that list of infamous dates. Why would this year be another massacre?"   
  
John thought hard and looked at Lindsay, "Because we're all here. All of the survivors, we're all in town now. That girl from the web cam massacre lives here in town. Thom and Kara live in town. Stephen and I are here and we're the last."   
  
Lindsay played dumb in order to assess how much John knew, "The last?" John nervously cracked his knuckles, "Where the last of his kin. His bloodline, Thom and Kara's adopted son Stephen is Jamie…my sister's son. He's my nephew." John laughed as he realized he's met a new relative and under such grim circumstances.  
  
"Michael has spent forty-five years hunting down all his living relatives. He got my mom and sister and now he's going to come for me and Stephen, I know it. That's why I'm staying here until after Halloween. If god willing, nothing happens, then I should find Molly and she and I can go back to California and get married."  
  
Lindsay was trying to keep from getting spooked, but she knew what he was saying was true. If all these people gathered here were in town tonight, Michael might come back. Dr. Wynn had assured her that was unlikely, that Michael would have to be too weak. Lindsay wondered if by gathering all these people together, that she had inadvertently triggered a bomb that would surely go off tonight.   
  
"John, I think we should talk to Thom, Kara and Sara. They should all be filled in on this." "Oh they already know. At least Kara and Thom do. I haven't met Sara Moyer yet." Lindsay noted that in her mind, "I spoke with her yesterday, I think you two should meet." John looked at her confused, "Why, she shouldn't be in any danger unless she is related to Michael or in his way."   
  
Lindsay frowned, "She and one other person escaped the massacre two years ago John. Last night Freddy Harris; the other survivor; was shot and killed. If we're in trouble I think she needs to know." Lindsay got up and checked her watch, "Listen, I have to go. I have to meet with my supervisors in twenty minutes. Why don't we try and get together with the others this afternoon. We can all meet at my office at Ridgemont Sanitarium."   
  
John's eyes widened, "Um, I really don't want to go to a mental institution if it' alright. Too many bad memories of seeing my mom's last home." Lindsay nodded, "That's fine. I'll call you later this afternoon then and we'll make plans ok? Have a nice day John." John waved to her as she walked off.  
  
Lindsay left John sitting on the park bench as she walked towards her car. She pulled out the tape recorder and turned it off. Then she got out her cell phone and dialed a number. "Dr. Wynn? Yes, I just met with him and I met with Sara Moyer yesterday. You knew that didn't you. Have you been keeping tabs on me? I can handle this myself. No I am not compromising the situation I am merely trying to assess their ability to cope with their histories. Yes, I know. Tonight, you promised me no one would be mislead Dr. but I haven't told them anything about the project. Yes, after tonight we can tell them everything. Ok. I'm heading back to Smith's Grove now. Bye."   
  
Lindsay hung up and got in her car. She peered out over the horizon and looked at the people in town. She hoped that tonight went according to plan. She would take all of the survivors to Ridgemont to evaluate and take statements from. Then the national guard would pick them up and put them all into protective custody until tomorrow. Once they were safe, and Halloween was over, they would be released.  
  
Lindsay was getting an aching suspicion of Wynn though. Why was he so anxious to get John and Stephen into custody? He had promised her that none of them were going to be exposed to any danger but if Michael decided to come home, then all bets were off.  
  
Thom and Mark got out of the squad car and followed Henderson. They walked past a couple of officers and Mark nodded to them. Thom had the unsettling feeling they were about to find Molly Carmichaels corpse. He prayed this wasn't so.  
  
"What's going on Gibbs? Henderson didn't fill me in." Deputy Gibbs walked over to the sheriff and Thom, "Sir, there were several robberies we assume during the early morning. The groundskeeper called us and we thought best that you see for yourself. "See what?" Thom asked as they made their way past several gravestones.  
  
"This." Gibbs pointed to an empty plot. It had been dug up and both the coffin and head stone were missing. "Who's plot is this?" Thom asked loudly. "WHO!" he shouted. Gibbs looked to the sheriff who signaled for him to answered, "It' um, belongs to Jamie Loyde." Thom closed his eyes. "It's happening."  
  
"Nothing's happening Thom, just calm down its probably just some kids playing Halloween pranks." Thom glared at him, "Stealing gravestones and coffins isn't a prank! Is this the only one?" Thom looked back and forth and noticed officers standing around another grave a ways away.   
  
Sheriff Grayson looked to Gibbs, "Did anything else get taken?" Gibbs nodded, "Yes sir, uh, the head stone and coffin of Judith Myers is also missing." Thom laughed in a mixture of ironic humor and sarcastic terror, "You know what this means don't you! A missing head stone in 78, a stolen coffin in 89. He's back, he's back and we're fucked!"   
  
Mark grabbed Thom by the shoulders and shook him twice, "Calm down Thom! We don't know that." He turned to Gibbs and barked out an order, "I want three units up in Hardin county down her A.S.A.P. Get a hold of the sheriff in Langdon and tell him to put his boys on full alert. Get me on the horn with the governor, if that fucker Myers is in town I want all units riding this town like a bull tonight. Move!" Gibbs ran off to the squad car and motioned for other officers to get on their walkie talkies.   
  
Thom's cell phone rang and he quickly answered it, "yeah!?" he was still very agitated. "Thom! Stephen, he's drawn something. Its Wynn, he's seen him. God, what do we do?" Kara was frantic and Thom needed to shout to calm her down, "Kara, calm down! Listen, I'm at the cemetery. Two coffins are missing. I want you to pick up Stephen and Dan and meet me at the police station." He hung up and walked up to Grayson, "Mark, we need to get my wife and kids."  
  
Dan walked down a long hallway towards the cafeteria. He bumped into Ms. Harris who was exiting her classroom with a stack of papers. She dropped her papers when he bumped into her and had knelt down to gather them up. "I'm sorry Ms. Harris I wasn't watching where I was going." Dan knelt down and helped her with the papers. "I was just grading these Antigone papers from third period. I do believe yours is due seventh hour, I hope you finished it." Dan mumbled something and stood up with her.   
  
"Are you and Jessica still coming in after school for tutoring?" Ms. Taylor adjusted her glasses and brushed of her shirt as she stood up. "Oh, yeah we are. She's gonna help me catch up on the last couple of assignments." Dan turned to leave when Ms. Harris quickly added, "I hope you do. Oh, and happy Halloween."  
  
Dan froze, then he turned back and forced a half smile. Ms. Harris headed on to the teachers lounge where Mr. Williams was stirring a cup of coffee. "Hey Elizabeth. Are we still on for lunch?" Ms. Harris smiled and set her papers down on a table, "What are the choices today Martin, meatloaf or tuna casserole." Mr. Williams grinned and pulled out his wallet, he checked it's contents and looked back to Ms. Harris, "Well, what say we skip the cafeteria food and go out." Ms. Harris looked at her clock and then back to Mr. Williams, "Alright Martin, but I have to be back by one. Sixth period may be your prep hour but I have a class."   
  
Dan sat down at a table next to Jesse and Miles who were chatting, "Hey have you guys seen Scott today?" Jesse motioned to Miles who shrugged, "I haven't seen him in a couple days. Maybe he got arrested." Dan looked down at his meatloaf and pushed it aside in disgust. He needed a jump start. "You guys wanna go for a walk?" Dan asked them and they agreed.   
  
Miles had his hands in his pockets as Jesse and Dan walked hand in hand. The blood stains on his sleeves had dried and were mostly faded but Miles knew. "Thinking about Sara?" Jesse looked at Miles immediately turned red, "No, I'm just thinking about tonight."   
  
Dan leaned in and smirked, "Yeah well the first time can cause a lot of stress." Jesse smacked him and he laughed, "I'm joking! I wasn't stressed at all." Jesse smacked him again. "Don't mind him, he only thinks with his other head. Don't worry about tonight Miles, I'm sure you two will find whatever your looking for."   
  
Dan and Jesse kissed and Miles rolled his eyes. Their kiss was broken off by a woman's voice shouting from across the campus, "Dan! Dan, we have to go now!" Dan looked up in surprise, "Mom?"   
  
Kara was running up to her son in a hurry, she needed to get him to the police station until Thom told them it was ok to go home. "Dan, I need you to come with me, its urgent. Stephen's in the car. We have to get to the police station." Dan looked at her in surprise, "Wha, why? What's going on" Jesse and Miles looked at each other then back to Mrs. Doyle who was tugging on Dan's arm. "We don't have time, we need to go…now."  
  
Dan turned back to his friends, "I guess, we'll hook up later tonight." Jesse and Miles waved as Dan and Kara swiftly made their way to the car. Stephen was sitting in the front seat looking out the window at them. Dan got in the back and Stephen turned around, "Hi Danny! Mom says we get to get out of school early today, I think it's for my birthday." Dan smiled, "Your probably right birthday boy, how does it feel to be nine years old?" Stephen made a farting noise, "It sucks so far! Mom said I cant open my presents until after the party."  
  
Kara started the car and drove off, she was really stressed. She had to get to the police station, meet Thom and find out what the hell was going on. Then, if everything was ok, she had to get her boys home, get ready for the party and make sure it all went well. After the party she had to get Stephen and Dan ready for trick or treating which she was seriously considering not letting them do. She hoped Stephen had seen the picture he's drawn on T.V. She prayed that the coffins were just stolen for a Halloween prank but she had a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach.  
  
She looked at her son humming to himself and peered back at Dan gazing out the window. She needed to stay calm for their sakes, especially Stephen, "So are you ready for your party Stephen? I got your costume ready so after we meet up with Daddy, we can go home and get you changed. Timmy, Sherry, and the others will be over at three thirty so that gives us about three hours to get ready."  
  
Stephen giggled at the thought of all this excitement, "I hope there's lots of candy in the piñata, especially jolly ranchers!" Kara looked at Dan through the rear view mirror, "I'm sorry I had to pull you out of school Dan. You and Stephen will still be able to go out tonight though….I hope." Dan thought about that, and frowned, "Don't forget mom, I have to go to school tonight to tutor with Jesse and Ms. Harris."   
  
Kara sighed, she'd forgotten about that, "Damn! Oh, sorry Stephen" Stephen didn't like it when his parents swore and always gave them 'the look' when they did. Kara ran a hand through her hair as she adjusted her schedule for the day, "Ok, we'll meet dad, go home, and have the party while you and Jesse are at school. Oh wait, I need you to help supervise."   
  
Kara growled at the slow driver ahead of her and beeped at him, this was very frustrating for someone as organized as her. She always had her time so well managed but now she had to run to the police station first with no idea how long that would take, and now she had to adjust her schedule so Dan could tutor, go trick or treating, and allow her time with Thom. She had a feeling her date with him had officially been cancelled.  
  
Thom greeted Kara and the boys at the police station and hugged her tightly, "I'm glad your alright." She smiled, "The boys are a little confused and I told Stephen this was part of his birthday present so your going to have to make something up for him to do." Thom looked over to Stephen who was looking at all the officers and equipment. "Hey birthday boy, I have a present for you. Have you ever seen a police station?" Stephen bounced over to his dad and gleefully squeaked, "Not until now dad."  
  
Thom smiled and picked Stephen up, "Well what if I could get the sheriff to give you a tour?" Stephen shouted, "Oh cool! Could he? Could he really!?" Thom walked over to Sheriff Grayson, Hey Mark. Today's Stephen's birthday, do you think you could give him a quick tour of the station?" Thom set his son down as Mark laughed, "Well sure. Hey Stephen, why don't I take you back and show you the interrogation room, ever seen double sided glass?" Mark and Stephen walked off hand in hand as Thom turned back to Kara, his expression changing from happiness to concern.  
  
"Kara, Judith Myers and Jamie Loyde's headstones and coffins where stolen this morning. Now I think something's up and I need you to come with me tonight to talk to my friend Lindsay. She's a psychologist working on the Myers case and I think she can help us." Kara nodded and bit her lower lip, "Are the boys going to be safe?"   
  
Thom looked over at Dan who was waiting for an answer, "Yes, they should be. Mark's got every officer for three counties coming into town tonight, Haddonfield will be safer than it has ever been." Kara gave a huge sigh of relief and squeezed Dan's hand. Dan was also relieved, so tonight would be fine. He just hoped everything played out like his parents were assuring him it would.  
  
John sat alone in the Doyle house. He had his head in his hands and was trying to clear his mind. Jonesy jumped up onto the couch and purred next to John. "Hey there, you know my fiancé loves cats. I was thinking of buying one for her when I get home." John smiled to himself. After tonight if everything went smoothly, he could go back home and forget about all of this. His mother's past would not become his future, he was through chasing her demons and it was time to put this behind him and focus on Molly and their life together.   
  
A knock cam from the front door and John went over to open it. A young woman with brown hair stood there nervously playing with her pink scarf. "Sara? Sara Moyer?" John greeted the woman and invited her in. "Thanks for coming over, its nice to meet you." Sara sat down on the couch and smiled up at the handsome man, "Well, I must admit I was surprised to get your call, I mean well, the past few days have been kind of strange for me." John sat down next to her and asked, "How so?"  
  
"Well, today's Halloween as I'm sure you've noticed and a lot of weird shit has been happening. Freddy's dead, I met a woman who wants me to come to Ridgemont sanitarium tonight and put me under safe watch until tomorrow. I have a bad feeling, don't you?" John knew this girl had met his uncle so they immediately had an initial bond from which to expand on, "My mother died two years ago. She was supposedly killed by another patient but I think my uncle got her. I know it. You met him two days later and I know your probably still dealing with it. I'm staying with a family who also encountered my uncle about eight or nine years ago. We've all been contacted by Dr. Wallace and we're supposed to meet her tonight as well. I've had a bad feeling ever since Thom Doyle emailed me last week."  
  
Sara sat there in silence for a moment before responding, "Dr. Wallace said she's trying to help us. She said that the possibility of Michael returning is next to nothing but they want to be safe, I don't know why this year is so important but I'm going. If it will keep me alive until next Halloween, I'll jump through any hoops they want me to." John looked at her and thought about the situation, "Who's 'they' anyways? The police? The FBI, the national guard? What are we getting ourselves into and why the hall are they doing this if Michael isn't even in town?" Sara looked at him contemplating this, "I don't know. I really don't."  
  
Mark came back with Stephen who was all smiles as he ran over to Kara and Thom, "I got to see the shooting range, and the detectives offices!" Kara looked over to Mark and lifted an eyebrow, "I hope you didn't show him the jail block." Mark laughed, "Nah. Don't worry I took good care of him." He turned to Thom, "Go on home Doyle, I got this under control. Take Kara and the boys home and I'll call you if anything comes up." Thom gave a half smile and led his family out to Kara's van, "Go on Kara, I'll follow you."  
  
They drove off, heading home just as sixth period was starting at Dan's school. Kara had to get Stephen changed and ready for his party then she had to get Dan off to school, "Hey Dan….about tonight." Kara asked her eldest son as they drove, "Since the party gets done at about five and you don't need to be at school till five thirty, do you think you could take Stephen along and then take him trick or treating afterwards?"   
  
Dan looked at his mom and groaned, "Mom, cant you take him? I mean, I don't know how long tutoring is going to take." Stephen also whined, "I don't want to be stuck at his boring school all night." Kara tried negotiating, "Look guys, this is the best I can do. Stephen, Dan has to go to school. Dan, Stephen really wants to go trick or treating now either you can miss your study session or Stephen can miss going out tonight."   
  
Stephen turned around and pleaded with Dan, "Oh Please take me out tonight Danny! I really wanna go. I can come to school with you if I have to, I'll be good I promise. I'll split my candy with you if you take me." Stephen gave Dan his most pathetic look and even Dan couldn't resist, "Aw, man Stephen why do you have to pull the abandoned dog look all the time. Ugh…fine, I'll take you but your gonna have to wait for me to finish my study session first." Stephen yelped with joy and Kara grabbed his arm, "Sit down Stephen do you want me to drive us into a ditch?" "Sorry mom" Stephen sat down but glanced back at Dan and smiled.  
  
They continued driving with Thom following. John and Sara continued to chat back home and Lindsay was sitting in her office typing up reports. Only five hours till sunset. Darkness would soon be falling and the night of Samhain would begin. The residents of Haddonfield prepared for a festive holiday totally unaware that their little town would be turned upside down tonight.  
  
~TBC  
  
*Hey guys, I hope you liked this chapter. Yay! Halloween s finally here in the story and now the real terror can begin hehehehe……. 


	8. Birthday Party

Hey people! Sorry it's been so long since my last update, been busy with school. Enjoy!  
  
Chapter 8: Birthday Party  
  
Kara and the boys were home by about quarter to one. Thom had followed them back and   
  
the family entered the house rather hurriedly. Kara immediately went to the kitchen where she   
  
began pulling decorations out of cupboards. John walked in from the living room and saw the   
  
family rushing about, "Anything I can do to help Kara?" She gave him a quick glance as she   
  
unrolled a stream of orange, "Well, you could help me put up these streamers." He smiled and   
  
went over to help her.  
  
At the same time Thom was in his office on the phone with the sheriff, "Hey Mark? What's the   
  
word on the graves? Listen, Kara is having the party at three-thirtyish and Dan's taking Stephen   
  
trick-or-treating at five. Could you have one of the guys down here to watch the house? Just for   
  
awhile…"   
  
Dan was up in his room lying on his bed looking up at the ceiling, why was all of this shit   
  
happening? His brother's birthday, tutoring, trick-or-treating, all of it. It was too much, he felt   
  
like he would burst. Dan wanted to scream. A knock came at the door and Stephen poked his   
  
head out from behind it, "Danny?" Dan rolled over on his bed so that his back faced his brother,   
  
"What." Stephen walked in and closed the door. He stood in his brother's room and looked at the   
  
walls plastered with rock band posters and writings by Dan. Stephen shifted uncomfortably as he   
  
tried to speak, Dan waited for him to speak and got annoyed when he didn't, "Well?" Stephen   
  
sighed, "I been having bad dreams lately. Can I move into your room with you?" Dan sat up and   
  
looked at the boy incredulously, "Are you out of your mind? No! Hell no!" Stephen didn't give   
  
his older brother 'the look', instead his eyes filled with dread and worry. Dan noticed this and   
  
calmed down, "Why would you want to move in here anyways, your room is just fine." Stephen   
  
quietly remarked, "I don't want him to get me…" Dan noticed his little brother's hands were   
  
shaking. "Who?" Dan asked, he was getting concerned, there better not be anyone bullying his   
  
bro. Stephen looked Dan dead in the eyes and swallowed before replying, "The shadow man."   
  
Dan felt a chill go up his spine. He got up and walked over to Stephen where he knelt down and   
  
grabbed the boy's shoulders, "What are you talking about Stephen!" The fragile boy's eyes grew   
  
dark, "He talks to me, all the time. He tells me to do stuff that I don't wanna….I'm not supposed   
  
to…" Dan closed his eyes and hugged his brother. He remembered when he was a kid, those   
  
voices he heard. "I'll protect you, the shadow man cant get you as long as I'm around." Stephen   
  
gave a sigh of relief, "Good, then were still on for tonight?" Dan looked at the boy's hopeful   
  
expression and couldn't help but smile, "Just try and stop me."  
  
John and Kara finished putting the decorations up when Thom walked into the kitchen. Kara saw   
  
him, "Hun? Who were you on the phone with? Is everything ok?" Thom smiled, "Everything's   
  
fine. I called Mark. He's gonna send an officer over to watch over us, just for tonight." Kara gave   
  
her husband a hug and chuckled with relief. John looked at them confusingly, "Is everything ok?   
  
Did I miss something?" Kara looked at Thom who immediately answered, "No, nothing's wrong,   
  
I just want to be careful." Kara looked at Thom and back to John, "John, could you do me a   
  
favor? Would you go upstairs and tell the boys to help Thom with the piñata?" John smiled,   
  
"Sure, be right back." He left. Kara looked to Thom sharply, "What was that!? Didn't you tell him   
  
what happened?" Thom winced, "No Kara. I don't want to tell him until we find out more. I don't   
  
want him to freak out on us." Kara didn't like this but agreed to keep quiet.   
  
It was about four o'clock and most of Stephen's friend were in the backyard playing games and   
  
running around. Kara sat at the picnic table with Diane as Stephen tried to smack open the piñata.   
  
"Kara, do you think Dan and Stephen should go out tonight? I mean, do you think it's safe?"   
  
Diane was trying to be tactful, she didn't want to make her friend any more paranoid. Kara took a   
  
bite of her cake and looked at the kids, "I don't know, part of me doesn't want to let them go, but I   
  
have to. I cant just keep them locked up each time this year, I have to let them live their lives."   
  
Diane smiled, "Your right, and Dan will keep Stephen safe." Kara looked up and Diane quickly   
  
added, "Uh, not that there's anything he'd need to be kept safe from. Wow this cake is delicious   
  
Kara where did you get it?" Kara smirked at her friend's attempt to change the subject.  
  
Thom walked around in the kitchen while John sipped a mug of coffee at the table. Thom looked   
  
out past the glass porch door and saw Kara gather the children around for presents, "He's going   
  
to open his presents now, we should probably head out there." John looked too and then   
  
remembered something, "Oh, hey Thom, I went out while you guys were gone and got Stephen a   
  
little something, lemme go upstairs and get it." John dashed out of the kitchen and Thom went out   
  
to the party.   
  
Dan had just come out of the bathroom when the doorbell rang, he was probably the only one   
  
who heard it since most everyone else was in the back yard. He went over to answer the front   
  
door and found Jesse standing there holding a present, "Hey, did I miss the party?" Dan let her in,   
  
"No everyone's out back." Jesse quickly elbowed her boyfriend in the ribs, "Where the hell did   
  
you go today!? I would have come here right away but I had to drop Miles off at Sara's." Dan   
  
rolled his eyes, "Don't worry, Mom was trippin about something at the police station but   
  
everything's alright." Jesse didn't look any happier, "What happened?" Dan huffed, "Nuthin   
  
really. False alarm, Dad's just worried about today because of, well, you know." Jesse put her   
  
hand to Dan's cheek, "Oh, I see." They walked out into the backyard and saw Stephen open up   
  
another present.  
  
John came out of the house and walked over to the beaming boy, he was holding up a boxed   
  
model rocket with a big smile on his face. "Here Stephen, happy birthday." John handed Stephen   
  
a large wrapped box and the boy tore the paper off and opened it. "Cool!" He held up a   
  
Halloween costume. It was a purple and white checkered clown costume complete with a little   
  
stocking cap and a clown mask. Stephen jumped up and yelped with joy. Thom and Kara traded   
  
nervous glances…why did it have to be a clown costume. "That was very nice of you John." Kara smiled to the young man.  
  
At about quarter to five, the last of the kids had been picked up. Kara and Diane were clearing the   
  
dining room table where the adults had snacked on sandwiches. "Stephen, hurry up and get your   
  
costume on, Jesse and Dan are ready." Kara called to her youngest son. Stephen was upstairs   
  
putting on his clown costume. He was so excited, he and his brother would have so much fun   
  
tonight and then Dan wouldn't be upset about everything anymore. Stephen turned around and   
  
faced his bed. Jonesy and Zoe were lounging about on his bed and he showed them his outfit,   
  
"Well, what do you think?" Zoe started grooming herself and Jonesy just flipped over and closed   
  
his eyes. Stephen smiled, "I'll take that as a thumb's up!" He heard his mom call to him again and   
  
went over to his desk to grab his jack-o-lantern candy basket and trotted out the door.  
  
Dan and Jesse were sitting on the living room couch talking. Jesse was telling her boyfriend about   
  
Miles and how he and Sara might be late to the school tonight. "Something came up. Miles said   
  
that he and Sara needed to talk in private and that she could give him a ride to the school   
  
tonight." Jesse explained as Dan flipped through t.v. channels. "Well, ok but if they screw up our   
  
plan we're totally screwed. If my mom finds out about the tower farm she'll have a cow!" Jesse   
  
giggled, "Don't worry Dan. You and Stephen can do your trick or treating, and then we can go to   
  
school and ditch Ms. Harris. We'll have to bring Stephen back here though before we go to the   
  
farm because I don't think he'd want to be there." Dan laughed, "Good point, I don't want him   
  
walking in on us anyways." They shared a quiet chuckle. Jesse asked, "Hey, do you think Miles   
  
will ask Sara out?" Dan smiled slyly, "Well why do you think he's at her dorm right now?" Jesse   
  
crossed her arms, "Maybe we shouldn't do this, I mean I don't want to cut your brothers candy   
  
race short and-" Dan put his hand over her mouth and leaned in, "Babe, we've been planning on   
  
doing something all month. Tonight's perfect, everyone else is going to be out and about, we can   
  
drop Stephen off at Mrs. Hopkins later if he really has a problem staying at home with John."   
  
Jesse removed Dan's hand and looked at him with hesitation in her eyes, "It's just that tonight of   
  
all nights, for us to pull a stunt like this? Maybe it's not such a-" Dan stopped her with a kiss just   
  
as Thom walked into the room. He coughed and the two hormonal teens broke their kiss off and   
  
blushed.  
  
Thom laughed, he was young once. "Are you two ready or should I give you a few more   
  
minutes?" Dan blushed and Jesse stood up, "We're ready Mr. Doyle, where's Stephen?" Stephen   
  
jumped out from behind his dad and startled the two teens, "Boo!" Jesse laughed and ran over to   
  
Stephen, "You look so cute Stephen!" The little clown pulled his mask off and smiled at her, "I   
  
know. Can we go now before all the good candy is gone?" Dan stood up and looked at the clock,   
  
"Bro, its not even five yet, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Besides, I still have to   
  
get my costume on." He smiled as Jesse and Thom looked at him surprised. Stephen jumped up   
  
and down, "Your dressing up too! Cool!" Dan walked over to the stairwell and swung around the   
  
handle, "I'll be back in just a sec." He swiftly flew up the stairs. Thom looked as Jesse and smiled,   
  
"Want some cocoa? Kara and Diane made some." Jesse shrugged and followed him into the   
  
kitchen.  
  
Kara and Diane were sitting at the kitchen table with John chatting about their plan to meet   
  
Lindsay tonight. John was still apprehensive about the whole idea, "What about Stephen? Will he   
  
be safe tonight trick or treating? And do you think it's a good idea letting him go to the school   
  
with Daniel all by themselves?" Jesse frowned and interrupted him, "Well, I'll be with them the   
  
whole time. We're taking Stephen out for a little while and then we'll go to school so I can help   
  
him finish his Antigone paper and study for his classes with Ms. Harris." Kara nodded and looked   
  
over to John, "She's right. There's no need to worry, I spoke to Dan's teacher earlier this week   
  
and they've planned to meet for awhile." John looked at Thom, "Are you ok with this?" Thom   
  
folded his arms and looked at the man, "John, I understand your concern for my sons. I called   
  
Sheriff Grayson and asked him to post a guard here tonight for our protection and Grayson said   
  
he'd have an officer escort Dan and Stephen to school tonight." Jesse widened her eyes, "What!?   
  
Is that really necessary Mr. Doyle?" Thom walked over and placed a hand on Kara's shoulder   
  
which she grasped, "Jessica, it's not that we don't think you and Dan aren't responsible. We just   
  
don't want anything to happen. I agreed to let Dan and Stephen go out tonight against my own   
  
hesitations. Thom and I are taking every possible precaution." Jesse nodded, Kara had a point.   
  
Diane sat silently watching the conversation. She could feel the tension fogging up the room and   
  
decided to break it, "Jesse, you didn't dress up tonight?" Jesse looked at her thoughtfully, "You   
  
know to be honest, It never even occurred to me today. I've had so much on my mind I sort of   
  
just forgot about it." John chuckled, "I guess we've all had a lot on our minds."  
  
Stephen had been sitting in the living room alone, he hadn't followed his dad and Jesse into the   
  
kitchen. Instead, he watched the movie on t.v. that his brother had been watching. Some weird   
  
movie with some snow dogs turning into weird aliens. Stephen watched as a decapitated head   
  
grew legs and crawled off, he grimaced, "ewww" Stephen looked away in disgust and noticed a   
  
figure outside. He looked out the window and saw a tall man in blue overalls and a pale mask   
  
standing in the yard. Stephen felt his body decrease in temperature and his heart beat began to   
  
slow. "Go to him Stephen…" a voice in his head echoed and he remembered the shadow man that   
  
he drew in his picture.   
  
Dan came down the stairs and entered the living room, "He bozo, what do you think?" Stephen   
  
didn't answer and Dan walked closer to his brother. Stephen was sitting on the couch staring out   
  
the window, his eyes were glazed over and vacant. Dan snapped his fingers at the young boy,   
  
"Stephen? Your zoning out." Stephen blinked and turned to his brother, "Dan? I was just   
  
watching…" he turned back to the window and Dan peered out with him, "What were you   
  
watching?" The figure was gone. Stephen turned away from the window, "N-nothing. Nice   
  
costume. Are you a clown too?" Dan brushed his blonde bangs away from his blue eyes, "No   
  
man…" How insulting!   
  
Jesse walked into the living room as she got her car keys out of her pocket, "Dan? Wow,   
  
um…what are you a mime?" Dan turned and looked at her annoyingly, "No! I'm the Crow!"   
  
Jesse looked at the boy. He was wearing a long sleeved black shirt and black pants and boots. He   
  
was wearing his leather trench coat and had white makeup on his face complete with black lines   
  
down his eyes and black lipstick curled in a ghastly smile across his face. Dan sighed, "Hasn't   
  
anyone seen the movie? Classic people, classic!" Jesse smiled, "Well you look great. Are you   
  
ready to go, both of you?" Stephen got up and put his clown mask back on, "Ready!"   
  
Kara and Thom walked Jesse and the boys to the front door, "Now you have your cell phones   
  
right?" Jesse and Dan both nodded. Thom knelt down to Stephen, "Hey buddy, have fun tonight   
  
ok? If you get in any trouble, what's the magic number?" Stephen groaned, "Ugh, 9-1-1..."   
  
Thom stood back up satisfied. The trio walked out into the yard and headed over to Jesse's car.   
  
Kara called out as they got in, "Have fun! And have Stephen back by nine!" Dan waved and   
  
Stephen shouted, "I'll bring you guys some jolly ranchers!" Thom laughed, "You know my   
  
favorite ones!" Stephen hollered as they left, "Green Apple!" Jesse drove off with Stephen in the   
  
front seat and Dan in the back. Thom wrapped his arms around his wife and soothingly spoke into   
  
her ear, "They'll be ok baby." Kara sighed, "I hope so."   
  
~TBC  
  
Author's Note: Hope you guys are liking the story so far, pretty much the rest of the story takes place on the same night. Also, I had a little fun in recent chapters by slipping in nods to my favorite horror movies. Hellraiser, Child's Play, The Ring (That one was for you Kora!) The Fog, and The Thing (1982) 


	9. Study Session

Disclaimer: I don't own any original Halloween characters…not even Michael. I wish!  
  
Chapter 9: Study Session  
  
  
  
Jesse drove down the street and turned on the radio. 'Mwahahahaha! Greetings   
  
boys and ghouls, this is Stevie Wayne coming at you from WKAI-Haddonfield and we're   
  
here to wish you a happy Halloween. Watch out for the boogeyman kiddies!' The first   
  
song cam on, it was 'Monster Mash'. Jesse started drumming to the beat as they drove   
  
and Dan shouted from the back seat, "Turn up the volume girl!" Jesse smiled and cranked   
  
it. Stephen started to sing along but couldn't get all the words right.   
  
Jesse looked at the boys as they pulled up to a stop sign, "So fellahs, do you   
  
wanna go trick or treating now or after we go to the school?" Stephen shouted, "Now!   
  
Please can we go now?" He turned around to ask Dan and he shrugged, "Sure, why not."   
  
Jesse giggled, "Ok then, I'll drop you too off at the start of the next block and meet you at   
  
the end, that way you can stop at a few houses on the way." Dan added, "Just, don't drive   
  
off without us" Jesse smiled, "Off course! I would never…" She drove through the   
  
intersection and followed the road to a little neighborhood near the school. "Ok boys   
  
Orange Grove is our first stop. Out you go." Jesse pulled up at the curb and Stephen and   
  
Dan got out. Stephen ran up to the first house on the street and rang the doorbell. "Wait   
  
up Kiddo!" Dan hollered, he turned back and waved as Jesse drove down to the end of the   
  
block.   
  
An elderly woman answered the door and looked down at the little clown on her   
  
doorstep. She smiled, "My what a cute little clown. Here, have some candy." She held out   
  
a big bowl of snacks and Stephen took a handful. The woman looked up at Dan and her   
  
smile faltered, "Eh, my what a cute, um, Mime. You look a little old to be trick or   
  
treating." Dan rolled his eyes, "Thanks lady, happy Halloween. Come on Stephen we have   
  
more houses to go to." The duo went to the next house and rang the doorbell. The middle   
  
aged man handed Stephen a chocolate bar and tried to a suppress a laugh when he saw   
  
Dan's costume. "Real scary kid." Dan huffed, what was wrong his outfit anyways?   
  
Jesse sat parked on the end of Orange Grove road. She flipped through a magazine   
  
while listening to Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' on the radio. "Now that's scary." Jesse   
  
laughed to herself. It was after five and the sun was starting to set. An eerie orange glow   
  
crept over the town, stretching tree's shadows and darkening the streets. Jesse had been   
  
reading an interesting article in her magazine, 'how to tame the animal in your man'. Jesse   
  
was so engrossed in the article that she didn't even notice Dan and Stephen hustle past the   
  
car with a swarm of other kids. They headed to the last house on Orange Grove.  
  
Dan waited as Stephen got his candy from the lady in the last house on the block.   
  
Stephen ran up to Dan and pleaded, "One more street please!" Dan looked at his watch   
  
and back at Jesse's car which was at the corner a ways back. "Well, make it quick ok, we   
  
have to get to school. Ms. Harris is waiting." Stephen didn't hesitate and ran down to the   
  
corner and turned right. Dan followed and turned right onto Lampkin Lane. Stephen ran   
  
to the first house on the new street and showed off his costume. Dan followed slowly   
  
behind him and slowly realized where he was. "Shit…" he whispered to himself. He didn't   
  
want to be on this street. The long street stretched past them as Stephen went to the next   
  
house, and the next, and the next. Dan checked his watch again, it was quarter to six.   
  
"Stephen we better get back, I was supposed to be to school by five thirty. Jesse's   
  
probably waiting." Stephen had vanished. Dan started walking down the street faster,   
  
looking for his brother, "Shit." he said to himself louder. He started running down the   
  
street and calling Stephen's name and finally saw him past a group of overgrown bushes.   
  
He was standing on the front steps of 45 Lampkin Lane, the Myers house and   
  
Dan's former residence. Dan came to an abrupt stop and slowly crept up to the small boy.   
  
Stephen was just standing on the steps, his mask obscuring his pale face. He just stood   
  
there, looking at the door and clutching his pumpkin basket. Stephen didn't make a sound   
  
as Dan snuck up behind him, "bro?" Dan whispered in Stephen's ear and the young boy   
  
jumped, "Ahh! Wha!?" Stephen whipped around and startled Dan, "What's wrong?"   
  
Stephen took his mask off, "Danny….I wanna go now." Dan took his brother by the hand   
  
and turned to walk back onto the sidewalk when a car horn made them both jump. "Hurry   
  
up clowns, we gotta go!" Jesse had found them and rushed them into the car.  
  
Thom and John greeted Officer Merrick as he drove up to the house, "Evening   
  
Thom." Thom shook the man's hand, "Nice of you to come Dave. Kara, John and I have   
  
to go out for awhile so I want you to be here when Dan and the others get home ok?   
  
Who'd Mark send to trail the kids anyways?" Merrick set his rifle down, "Sheriff asked   
  
Officer Cole Starks to follow them and keep me an em' posted. They're in good hands   
  
Thom. Don't worry." Thom smiled, "I'm not. Just uh, keep the house safe and watch out   
  
for the cats, they like to play hide and seek." Thom walked out the front door and John   
  
followed quietly. Kara stepped out from the kitchen with Diane, "Go home Diane. Lock   
  
the doors and stay put until we get back, just to be safe." Diane gave her best friend a   
  
worried smile, "The kids will be fine Kara. The cavalry and I can watch them when they   
  
get back." Kara gave Diane a quick hug and they walked past Merrick; greeting him; and   
  
left the house. Merrick shut and locked the door behind him. No one was getting in   
  
without his permission. Diane walked next door to her house and opened the door. She   
  
stepped in and waved at the trio as they pulled out of the driveway in Kara's van.   
  
Miles had been at Sara's dorm room since after school. She had text messaged him   
  
and asked if they could talk. Miles had been surprised when Sara asked him to go to   
  
Ridgemont with her, "I just don't want to go by myself. I wont know anyone except John   
  
and Dr. Wallace, and I don't know them very well." Miles couldn't say no and they   
  
planned on going to the school to tell Dan and Jesse that they wouldn't be joining them at   
  
the barn. Miles was relieved about that, he was nervous about telling Sara how he felt. He   
  
knew she needed to know but he just couldn't bring himself to take that risk. He still   
  
didn't want to risk jeopardizing their friendship.   
  
At about six o'clock, Jesse, Dan and Stephen arrived at Haddonfield High School   
  
and walked through the front door just as Mr. Puck, the janitor as locking up. "Cutting it   
  
close eh kids? Ms, Harris has been waiting for you guys for half an hour." Jesse and the   
  
others hurried past the old man and he shut the door behind them and locked it. "Don't   
  
worry, you wont be stuck in here all weekend, Ms. Harris has a set of keys." "Night Puck"   
  
Dan waved as Jesse headed for the stairs. Stephen was in awe as he looked around at the   
  
'big kid school'. He'd been there before, for school plays and games but not like this. It   
  
was so…empty. "Ms. Harris is waiting for us Dan." Jesse waited for her boyfriend and his   
  
brother and they headed upstairs to the second floor. Their footsteps echoed down the   
  
long corridor as they headed up to the English wing. Jesse looked at Dan, "You don't   
  
even have your work with you!" Dan laughed, "My paper's saved in the lab, no sweat."   
  
He looked at her cold gaze, "Really! I'm almost finished with it!"   
  
They arrived at Ms. Harris' classroom and found her sitting at her desk typing on   
  
her computer. She looked up from the monitor and saw the group, "Finally, I was   
  
beginning to think you ditched me." She took a sip of her coffee and set it on her desk.   
  
"Not yet.." Dan said to himself. Jesse elbowed him in his ribs. Stephen looked at them   
  
confused, then she looked at Dan's teacher. "Hi, I'm Stephen!" Elizabeth laughed to   
  
herself, "Yes, we have met child. You came with your parents to orientation earlier this   
  
year. Stephen looked at Jesse, "Oh yeah." She laughed. "Ms. Harris, do you want Dan to   
  
finish his paper now?" Ms. Harris removed her glasses and gave Dan a stern look, "Now   
  
Daniel, you know that paper was due today. I noticed you weren't in class seventh   
  
period." Dan shuffled in his place, "Yeah well, family emergency." Stephen jumped in,   
  
"We got to go to the police station! The sheriff showed me the shooting range and the   
  
interrogation rooms." Ms. Harris lifted an eyebrow and Dan smiled nervously, "Uh,   
  
everything's fine now! Can I go to the lab and finish my report?" Ms. Harris motioned for   
  
Dan to use her computer, "Oh right, thanks." She logged off and let him on. Jesse pulled   
  
up a chair and sat next to him to help. Stephen plopped down on the floor and started   
  
rummaging through his candy.  
  
Miles sat next to Sara as she drove down the street towards the high school. He   
  
fumbled with his fingers nervously, "So, I'll bet you were top of your class back when you   
  
were in high school." Sara nodded, "Valedictorian, class of 99". Miles looked out the   
  
window and noticed a few drops of rain begin to fall. "It's gonna keep on raining for the   
  
rest of the week huh." Sara turned around a corner, "Dunno, maybe." Miles took a deep   
  
breath, it was now or never, "Sara I, uh…" Sara looked at him, she could almost hear the   
  
words in his head. She felt the same way. They spoke the words at the same time, "I like   
  
you." Sara stopped at a red light and turned to face the smiling man next to her. This   
  
young man had saved her life, he had been there to support her for the past two years. She   
  
owed more than she could ever repay him. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. Miles   
  
blushed and moved his face, his lips, right onto hers. They locked lips in a tender kiss.   
  
Sara savored the milky taste of Miles' lips. Miles fell into ecstasy as he smelled Sara's hair   
  
brushing over his forehead. They continued to kiss lovingly until the car behind them   
  
honked it's horn. Sara broke the kiss and looked at the light, it was green. Sara hit the gas   
  
and started laughing as the car behind them passed them and beeped again. Miles started   
  
chuckling as well. Sara drove the rest of the way with her left hand only. With her right,   
  
she grasped Miles' hand gently.   
  
Lindsay answered her phone. It was her secretary telling her that John and the   
  
others had arrived. Lindsay checked the clock, it was six thirty. "Send them in Kathryn."   
  
Lindsay walked out of her office and headed towards the front desk. Kathryn Porter sat at   
  
her desk answering phones as the elevator doors opened. Thom, Kara and John walked   
  
out, covered from head to toe in water. "Helluva storm huh?" Lindsay asked as she   
  
walked over to greet them. "Kathryn, can you call the Sheriff and tell him their here?"   
  
Kathryn nodded and got on the phone.  
  
  
  
John immediately spoke up, "Please Dr. Wallace, tell us what this is all about. Why   
  
do you really want us here? It cant just be for our protection, what's your game?" Kara   
  
cleaned her glasses and looked at Lindsay, "I have to admit, he has a point Lindsay. I   
  
mean, why bring us all the way out here…we're not going to be any safer here than back   
  
in town." Lindsay sighed, "Your right. There is another reason I brought you here. Come   
  
with me, I have something to show you." Lindsay turned around and headed for the   
  
elevator. John and the others followed. "We're here for a purpose aren't we. Something's   
  
happening." Thom spoke more to himself than to the others, he was processing   
  
everything.   
  
They got in the elevator and Lindsay pushed the basement button, "After   
  
talking to you John, and Sara Moyer, I did some thinking. I think there is a bigger   
  
connection to everyone here." Kara tilted her head, "What do you mean?" Lindsay crossed   
  
her arms and adjusted her glasses, "Remember two years ago when the Myers house was   
  
used for a live web cam reality show on Halloween night?" The others nodded, Kara   
  
bitterly added, "How could I forget? They made a farce out of my family's slaughter."   
  
Lindsay nodded, "Yes, Dangertainment made a mockery of all the tragedies that have   
  
befallen that house. I did some research on the project and found out that my employers   
  
made a very generous donation to the Dangertainment company. Ridgemont and Smith's   
  
Grove sponsored the project." Thom's eyes widened. John shivered and Kara put a hand   
  
on his shoulder, then she turned to Lindsay, "What does that mean?" Thom answered her   
  
question, "It means they sponsored the massacre." "There's more," Lindsay continued as   
  
the elevator came to stop.   
  
They entered a dark dirty hallway, "the lower sub-basement of the facility."   
  
Lindsay remarked. Kara looked around in disgust, "Quaint." John was getting frustrated,   
  
"What else is there?" Lindsay looked to him, "I went back and checked Sara Moyer's file,   
  
did you know she was adopted?" Thom was stunned, "No?" Lindsay continued, "Yes,   
  
back in 1982, just two months after she was born. I did some digging and it turns out that   
  
Peter Myers and Pamela Strode had been having an affair." John and Kara both shouted,   
  
"What!?" Thom remained silent, thinking. Lindsay led them down the long hallway. They   
  
reached a secured door and Lindsay pulled out a keycard which she ran through the   
  
scanner. The door unlocked and she opened it and let them in, "Yes, Michael's father   
  
began a torrid affair with Pamela Strode in 1963, only months before Judith's murder.   
  
When Michael killed his sister, Pamela and Morgan took Laurie as their own, but the affair   
  
continued. I read in Dr. Sam Loomis' manuscript that Peter Myers would often come and   
  
visit his son without his wife Audrey. The affair continued until 1981 when Peter and   
  
Audrey Myers were killed in a car crash." John huffed, "You sure? My mom fooled the   
  
country into thinking she died in a car wreck, maybe they did too."   
  
Lindsay frowned and answered, "No, I saw death certificates, autopsy photographs   
  
and reports and the very occupied graves of the deceased. They're dead, trust me. There's   
  
more." They waited for her to continue, "Pamela and Morgan were a god decade younger   
  
than the Myers. Pamela became pregnant in 1980, the same year the Myers died. Loomis   
  
discovered that Audrey and Peter had been having severe marital problems in the months   
  
before Judith died. There were rumors that Peter cheated on his wife several times,   
  
nothing solid. Audrey accused Peter of having a sexual relationship with their   
  
daughter. It was a well known fact that Judith was a nymphomaniac but the suspicions of   
  
incest began tearing the family apart. Audrey was planning on leaving Peter, which is   
  
when he started the affair with Pamela Strode. Even after Judith died, they   
  
continued their secret affair." John frowned in disgust, "This is seriously fucked up."   
  
Lindsay chuckled sardonically, "It gets even more fucked up. Loomis wrote in his   
  
manuscripts; he had no proof but he knew; the night the Myers died. Audrey learned of   
  
the affair. I don't know if they knew about Pamela's pregnancy but in any case they died   
  
and Peter's dirty little secret died with them."   
  
Thom spoke, "But it didn't." Kara looked at him, he hadn't said anything in   
  
awhile. "Pamela and Morgan were a good decade younger than the Myers. The Myers   
  
died in 1980 and Pamela Strode gave birth to Sara Strode in 1981.   
  
She told Morgan the child was his, he never knew the truth. They agreed to put her up for   
  
adoption when Laurie faked her death later that year. They didn't know their daughter had   
  
secretly moved to California, it would have put them at risk. They severed all contacts   
  
with the Myers bloodline; Jamie, Laurie, everyone. I suspect Pamela gave Sara up because   
  
she knew the baby had Myers blood in her." John was pale with a sudden realization,   
  
"Sara." Thom got out his cell phone, "Do you have her number Linz?" Lindsay nodded,   
  
"It's ok. I have met with her, just the other day actually. She agreed to come here tonight,   
  
just like the rest of you. She's probably on her way right now."  
  
Sara and Miles arrived at the high school and parked in the front lot. They tried to   
  
get in the front door but it was locked. Miles got out his cell phone, "Hold on a sec." He   
  
dialed and A phone started ringing in Ms. Harris' classroom. Jesse walked over to her   
  
purse which was lying on a desk. She answered it, "Hello? Miles! Oh hey, ok hold on, I'll   
  
be right down." She hung up and turned to Ms. Harris, "Ms. Harris? Miles and his friend   
  
Sara are here, can we let them in?" Ms. Harris nodded, "Of course, would you care to join   
  
me." Jesse agreed and they walked out into the hallway. Ms. Harris could tell that Jesse   
  
was stressed out, "How are you holding up Jessica? I know this is a difficult time of year   
  
for Daniel and his family." Jesse forced a smile, "Yeah, they get pretty stressed around   
  
Halloween. Can you blame them? I've been trying to be there for Dan, he needs me now   
  
more than ever." Ms. Harris looked at Jesse with sympathy in her eyes as they began   
  
down the stairs. Jesse looked around the dark school. Most of the lights had been turned   
  
off. Only the English wing was dimly lit by the few lights overhead. Ms. Harris led Jesse   
  
down the dark stairs, recently polished by Mr. Puck. Jesse looked at the long hallways   
  
hidden in shadow, her own locker looking menacing. "This place is so creepy after dark.   
  
How can you stay here so late?" Ms. Harris laughed, "Believe me, this school isn't nearly   
  
as scary as the pile of term papers I have on my desk." They both laughed and headed   
  
from the stairs to the metal double doors at the end of the hall. They saw Miles and Sara   
  
waiting on the other side and Ms. Harris took her keys off from around her neck. She   
  
walked over to the doors and unlocked them.   
  
Officer Cole Starks 36, sat in his squad car parked on the street across from the   
  
school. He saw Miles and Sara enter the school and got on the radio, "Sheriff?" Sheriff   
  
Grayson came on the other end, "Starks? What's your position?" Starks looked over to   
  
the school, "I'm at the high school. Sara Moyer and a young man just arrived. I'm going   
  
to drive around the block a couple of times and check the perimeter." Grayson replied,   
  
"Good. Then I want you parked outside the school, in the back. Keep out of sight, I don't   
  
want to alarm the kids. Over and out." Starks put the radio receiver down and started the   
  
squad car and drove off. He didn't notice the shadowy form of the Shape lurking in the   
  
trees right near the school. Fresh blood would soon be shed. 


	10. School's Out

Hey everyone, chapter ten is finally here! So is the Shape…  
  
Chapter 10: School's Out  
  
October 30th 2004   
  
Ridgemont Sanitarium 3:50pm  
  
"Thank you so much for coming Sara." Lindsay held out her hand and Sara shook it as she   
  
and Miles sat down in the chairs across from Lindsay's desk. Sara looked at Miles fondly   
  
and turned to Lindsay, "Dr. Wallace, I hope you don't mind that I brought someone. This   
  
is Miles Bartram, he-" Lindsay finished her sentence, "Saved your life as I recall. I read   
  
about you in the papers Mr. Bartram. Yes your quite welcome to stay during this   
  
meeting." Miles smiled shyly, "Thanks."   
  
Lindsay opened up the case file on her desk and Sara noticed her name on the   
  
label, "You have a file on me? Why?" "Standard proceeded, my team and I put together a   
  
portfolio on all the people involved with the Michael Myers investigation. It's just basic   
  
information." Lindsay casually spoke as she flipped through several pages. "I see from   
  
your 2002 medical exam that you received a few injuries from your ordeal." Sara   
  
grimaced, "Um, yeah, I have a bit of a leg problem from were I was cut. It's nothing   
  
major." Lindsay adjusted her glasses and smiled, "Yes I'm sure, now it also says here that   
  
you received a very large amount of money from the Dangertainment network." Sara   
  
looked at Miles, "Yeah, me and Freddie were given a 'damage settlement'. Freddie called   
  
it a "Fuck up policy'. We were given hush money so we wouldn't sue the company."   
  
Lindsay continued to scan the information, "Uh huh, but you did pursue with legal   
  
actions. I see you were in court several times with ADA Miranda Preston. She's a friend   
  
of mine, I'm glad she was helpful to you." Sara titled her head, "Um, I called you in hopes   
  
of discussing a further career in criminal psychology. Particularly profiling suspects and   
  
evaluating mental states. Is there another reason why you wanted to see me?" Lindsay   
  
looked at the two people waiting for an answer and quickly clapped the case folder shut.   
  
"I'll be honest with you Sara. I have been on the Myers case for a little over six years. I   
  
was first assigned to the case in 1998 but didn't take over as head investigator until 2000."  
  
  
  
Sara crossed her arms, "What does this have to do with me?" Lindsay took her   
  
glasses off, "Well Sara, what it means is you are the sole survivor of Myers' last massacre,   
  
and that puts you at potential risk of re-contact." Sara blinked, "You think he will come   
  
back?" Lindsay looked over to her bulletin board which was covered with newspaper   
  
clippings about various Halloween murders, "He has a nasty habit of doing so." Miles   
  
could tell Sara was getting nervous and decided to step in, "Forgive my impatience doctor   
  
but why did you want to interview Sara?" Lindsay slyly answered, "The people at   
  
Ridgemont Sanitarium in relationship with Smith's Grove and the State governor wish to   
  
collect as much information on all the known survivors so that we can generate any   
  
sketchy patterns. We want to find Myers, he is a danger to society and we need to put him   
  
away for good."   
  
Lindsay saw the apprehension in Sara's eyes and could feel Miles' patience   
  
winding down so she had to work to get her information, "Sara, my research tells me that   
  
you were adopted? Did you ever receive any contact from your real parents?" Sara gasped   
  
at this audacity, "Excuse me! No I did not and I really don't see how that has any   
  
relevance to your 'case'." Lindsay jotted a note down in her folder, "Yes of course, I   
  
apologize. I am just trying to be as thorough as I can. Anyways, it was very nice speaking   
  
to you again. Miles, nice to meet you. If you'll excuse me, I have an appointment I need to   
  
prep for. My secretary Kathryn will show you out." Sara and Miles reluctantly got out of   
  
their seats and awkwardly walked out of the office. Lindsay waited until she saw Kathryn   
  
escort them to the elevator, then she closed and locked her door. She walked over to her   
  
television and hit the play button. The conversation she had just had with Sara came on,   
  
Lindsay smiled, "Gotcha."  
  
October 31st 2004  
  
Haddonfield High School 6:15 pm  
  
"Hi Miles, and the infamous Sara." Jesse was purposefully trying to embarrass her   
  
friend but what she failed to realize was that they had already broken any barrier in   
  
tension. Sara smiled, "Hey Jesse, it's nice to see you again." Jesse smiled cheerfully as Ms.   
  
Harris looked at the youths intently, "Miles, are you here to help Daniel too? I think he   
  
has it under control." Miles looked at Sara and then to Jesse. Jesse turned to Ms. Harris,   
  
"Miles and Sara came to help out with Stephen. We went trick or treating earlier and   
  
we're going to hit some more houses after we're done here." Miles looked at Sara, she   
  
looked a little confused, he smiled, "I'll explain later."   
  
Ms. Harris knew something was up, but for the moment she just nodded and   
  
started back for the stairs. Miles looked to Jesse, "Jesse, we have a slight change in plans."   
  
Jesse whirled around and looked at them after Ms. Harris was out of earshot, "What is it?   
  
Please don't tell me you're bailing on us. Dan is pretty stressed about getting Stephen   
  
home without his parents finding out about our little rendezvous." Miles faltered, "Well,   
  
the thing is…" Sara came to his rescue, "We're not sure we can go to the barn with you.   
  
We have new plans." She took his hand in hers and Jesse looked at them in surprise,   
  
"Really! I see…ok, well I'll just tell Dan to postpone the party. You two owe me for this   
  
one though because he's gonna be bummed out."   
  
Miles gave Jesse a quick hug, "Thanks Jesse, you're the best." Jesse smiled   
  
sarcastically, "Yeah well…I'm glad you two finally got together, we've been making bets   
  
on when it would happen." Sara laughed, "Are you serious!? Were we that obvious?"   
  
Jesse rolled her eyes, "Please….Dan's cats knew you liked each other!" Miles blushed,   
  
"We better find Dan." The trio headed back up the stairs and followed Ms. Harris into her   
  
classroom.  
  
Officer Starks was driving around the block and had come back around to the   
  
school when he noticed a black van parked in the back lot. He pulled into the alley and   
  
drove up to the rear school exit. Starks got out of his squad car and grabbed his flashlight.   
  
He walked over to the van and noticed it was parked askew. He looked up at the school,   
  
three stories high with another level for maintenance.   
  
Starks scoped the building for any signs of forced entry. No broken windows,   
  
everything seemed in place. "Must be the teachers van." He grumbled to himself. Still, he   
  
knew he better stick around just to make sure. He flipped his flashlight off and out it back   
  
in his jacket. He walked back over to his car and got in. Starks picked up his thermos and   
  
poured himself a cup of coffee then settled into his seat and waited. What he had failed to   
  
notice was the lock on the fire exit nearby had been pried off.   
  
Miles and Sara followed Jesse into Ms. Harris' room where Dan was just finishing   
  
up his term paper. He looked up from the blue screen and saw them, "Oh hey Miles, Sara.   
  
I'm just about finished here ok?" Ms. Harris sat at one of the desks near the front and   
  
watched Stephen sitting on the floor. He was rummaging through his pumpkin bag,   
  
"Looking for something in particular?" Stephen looked up to the woman and answered,   
  
"Jolly Ranchers, I cant find any yet." He looked back to his bag and gave a frustrated sigh,   
  
"Danny! We have to go to some more houses so I can get some Jolly Ranchers." Dan   
  
looked to the little dwarf and groaned, "Alright kiddo….just give me a minute here." He   
  
went to print his paper and realized there wasn't a printer in the classroom.   
  
Miles looked over his shoulder and whispered in Dan's ear, "Hey, can we talk?"   
  
Dan wasn't paying much attention, "Yeah sure in a sec. Hey Ms. Harris? Can I run down   
  
to the computer lab and print this out?" Ms. Harris sighed, "Sure, but hurry back. I think   
  
we'd all like to leave soon and I still have a stack of papers to grade for Monday." Dan   
  
got up and headed for the door. Miles quickly followed turning back to Sara and Jesse,   
  
"I'll be back in a sec."   
  
Dan walked down the dark hallway in haste and Miles had to run to catch up,   
  
"Woah hey man wait up! I gotta tell you something." Dan stopped and turned back with a   
  
slight sneer, "I already know. You and Sara aren't coming to the Tower Barn, Jesse told   
  
me." Miles looked away for a second, "It's just that well, Sara and I kissed." Dan crossed   
  
his arms and Miles shifted in his step, "We kind of wanted to go back to her place to talk."   
  
Dan snorted, "Talk? I know what you want, you just want to fuck. Fine go ahead, Jess   
  
and I will take Stephen, we don't need you." Miles looked at his friend with hurt in his   
  
eyes, "Dan, I.." Dan turned to walk away when Miles grabbed his shoulder, "Man, it's not   
  
like that! We're not trying to ditch you. This is important to me cant you see that?" Dan   
  
looked at the boy and his eyes were cold, "No, you don't get it. Friends aren't supposed   
  
to bail on each other just so they can have a one nighter with some college slut." Miles   
  
expression changed, he became angry, "Don't you talk about Sara that way!" Dan turned   
  
back and walked off in anger, "Whatever man…"   
  
Dan stormed into the computer lab to pick up his paper and Miles rushed in behind   
  
him, "Listen to me Damn it! What the hell is wrong with you? We can go to the barn some   
  
other time. It was a pretty risky idea to begin with and what about your brother?" Dan   
  
glared at Miles, "Fuck off." Miles looked at his best friend and tightened his fists, "What   
  
has gotten into you, why are you so pissed about this?" Dan lashed out, "Why!? Because   
  
this is all I have left now! Tonight was my last chance to salvage my relationship with   
  
Jesse. I know she's gonna dump me, who wouldn't?" Miles looked confused, "What the   
  
hell are you talking about?" Dan grabbed his paper and tried to head out but Miles stood   
  
in the doorway and wouldn't let him pass, "Tell me." Dan looked at the stern expression   
  
on Miles' face, "She's been so good to me the past few years. I know she loves me but I   
  
don't think she can take all my bullshit anymore. The cutting, the weed the-" Miles pushed   
  
Dan, "Weed! I knew it, you bastard you've been lying to me. You've been seeing Scott   
  
haven't you?" Dan looked at his feet and answered quietly, "So what if I am." Miles   
  
turned and headed out the door, "Fine Dan. If you want to smoke pot and slash your arms   
  
up, do it. But don't expect me or Jesse to pick up after your messes anymore. I have a life   
  
to Strode." He stormed off.  
  
  
  
Miles was shocked, how could Dan be using drugs? How could he have lied to   
  
him, they were best friends. Miles heard Dan running after him and tried to pick his pace   
  
up but Dan grabbed his arm and yanked him back, "Don't leave!" Miles folded his arms   
  
and waited for an explanation, "Miles man, I'm sorry. I just got really fucked up you   
  
know?" Miles looked at Dan, "No I don't know Dan, You've never told me remember?"   
  
Dan ran his hands through his hair, "Ugh….fuck it. Ok you want to know the truth? Why   
  
I'm so messed up these days? It's Halloween and a relative of Michael fucking Myers is   
  
living with us right now." Miles breath caught, "Why?" Dan kicked a nearby locker, "Hell   
  
if I know, says the fucker is coming back. I cant…Stephen, I have to protect him." Miles   
  
looked around confused, "Stephen? What does he have to do with anything? Dan! Tell me   
  
what's going on." Dan looked at his friend with fear in his eyes. He was going back to the   
  
dark place, the place he never wanted Miles to know about, "Michael Myers killed my   
  
family. He slaughtered my grandparents and my uncle and nearly killed Thom and my   
  
Mom." Miles' eyes widened, "Jesus." Dan knelt against the lockers, "Jesus doesn't have   
  
anything to do with it man. He was after Stephen, he was after his blood." Miles   
  
processed this, "Stephen? He's related to Michael?" Dan nodded and clutched his paper   
  
tightly. "I cant let anything happen to him, I cant." Miles understood now, "Then why   
  
would you want to leave him tonight just to shack up with Jesse?" Dan looked at the   
  
ground, "I don't know, I just wanted to do something special for her. I wanted to show   
  
her how much I love her." Just then Ms. Harris Stepped around a corner and faced them,   
  
she spoke and made them jump, "I knew something was going on."  
  
Jesse and Sara were on the computer when Dan and Miles quietly walked in. Ms   
  
Harris was behind them and she did not look happy, "Ok boys, let me get this straight.   
  
You four were going to sneak out of here and party. Is that right Huh? Jesse, did you   
  
know about this little adventure?" Jesse looked at Dan and Miles and then up to her   
  
teacher, "Well I uh," Ms. Harris sighed, "That's what I thought. I'm afraid I'm going to   
  
have to call your parents and tell them about this. And don't think you wont be hearing   
  
from the principal either." Jesse felt her stomach churn, her parents would kill her. Dan   
  
went over to Stephen and stuffed his candy back into the bag, "C'mon Stephen we're   
  
leaving." Stephen jumped up, "Aww man, but I still didn't find any good candy." Dan   
  
looked at the boy sternly, "I'll take you to some more houses ok? Now let's move."   
  
Dan and Miles walked out the door with Stephen and Jesse and Sara weren't far   
  
behind. Sara tried to plead with Ms. Harris, "Ma'am, they didn't really mean any harm.   
  
They just wanted to have some fun for Halloween, do you really have to involve their   
  
parents?" Ms. Harris lifted an eyebrow, "I see. Listen up young lady, when these children   
  
are at this school after dark, they are my responsibility. I cant just let them sneak out and   
  
go god knows where." Sara nodded, and turned to Miles, "I tried."   
  
The gang walked over to the end of the hall while Ms. Harris followed, "I want   
  
you to go straight home, I'm going to call your parents right now so you better hurry. It's   
  
nothing personal kids. Granted I thought you knew better. I have to do what's best for   
  
you. It's part of the job. Now go home, We'll deal with this on Monday." Jesse looked at   
  
her teacher apologetically, "I'm sorry Ms. Harris." Ms. Harris folded her arms, "You   
  
should be Jesse. I thought so highly of you before this. Now do the smart thing and get   
  
home." Jesse headed back, "For what it's worth Ms. Harris, I really am sorry." Ms. Harris   
  
sighed, "I know, I'm sorry too but I have to do this or else my boss will have my head."   
  
Just as Ms. Harris said this a dark shape came up behind her. Jesse screamed as a   
  
white face peered back at them from behind Ms. Harris. The Shape loomed over the   
  
woman and before she could turn around he jammed his butcher's knife deep into her   
  
back. Ms. Harris let out a pained scream as she was lifted off the ground. Miles and Sara   
  
watched frozen and Dan felt his knees buckle. Stephen looked on in terror and Jesse tried   
  
to step forward but she was too scared. Ms. Harris screamed as she was lifted up on the   
  
knife. Michael held her there to dangle for a moment then he threw her into a nearby wall.   
  
Ms. Harris flew off the blood stained blade and hurtled into the wall. Her head it the fire   
  
alarm and it went off as her body hit the ground. Sara found her voice as the shape looked   
  
at the group of terrified kids, "Oh my god…" She turned to the others and yelled, "Run!"  
  
Author Note: Ok, hope you liked this chapter. I recently got a serious urge to write this story again. It's kinda dorky but, I got second wind from watching Days of our Lives. You see, a serial killer has been slaughtering the cast members and after watching the seventh person die and the killer revealed, I got a rush of energy to write my story so mores coming soon!  
  
~Liz 


	11. StarCrossed Lovers

I don't own the Halloween franchise or the characters. So don't sue me please.  
  
Chapter 11: Star-Crossed Lovers  
  
Jesse grabbed Stephen by the hand and yanked him away from the carnage. Sara and Miles   
  
ran but Dan was frozen in his place. He looked up at Michael who slowly walked towards   
  
him. Dan instantly remembered the events of that fateful nights eight years ago.  
  
October 31st 1995  
  
Smith's Grove Sanitarium   
  
Kara was slowly regaining consciousness and realized she was being dragged   
  
down a dripping cold hallway. She opened her eyes and saw two men in black hooded   
  
robes holding her up by her arms. A man in a black over coat and hat walked in front of   
  
them. Kara's whole body ached from her fall. "Wynn…" She spat as they continued down   
  
the hall.   
  
They arrived in a cellar-like room deep under the facility. Kara looked around in   
  
awe as she saw the massive room. Candles littered the room, their flames casting the place   
  
under a yellow glow. Dozens of people stood in similar dark robes. Kara was thrown   
  
down on a stone alter. Wynn turned and leaned in to her ear, "Hush sweet child, it will be   
  
over soon."   
  
He turned around and two more robed men entered the basement. One was   
  
holding baby Stephen, the other led Danny by the hand down to the alter with Kara.   
  
Danny was in some sort of trance and wasn't aware of his mother's presence. Wynn   
  
walked over to a stone table and picked up a chalice filled with blood. "This cursed blood   
  
will be the carrier unto the next vessel." The cloaked figures bowed as Wynn carried the   
  
chalice over to Kara. He tilted it open and held it up to her lips. "Drink child and become   
  
the first sacrifice of the new one." Kara looked up in terror as Wynn held her nose shut   
  
and poured the blood down her throat.   
  
She coughed and gagged until he was done. The chalice was empty and Kara had   
  
blood running down her lips. Wynn walked over to the hooded figure holding Stephen,   
  
"Give him to me." They obliged and handed over the innocent. Wynn took Stephen and   
  
sat him down on the stone table where he took a dagger out of his pocket. He ran the   
  
blade up and down the child's chest, "This child will be Michael's final sacrifice. With the   
  
blood he sheds, the curse shall pass on to our new vessel."   
  
Danny was led up to Wynn by the second robed man. Kara realized what was   
  
going on, "Oh god no….Wynn, you bastard! You cant have my baby!" Wynn looked at   
  
the pleading woman, tied down like a trapped animal, "And you shall be his first victim."   
  
Wynn took the dagger and gently pricked Stephen's finger. A tiny drop of Myers' blood   
  
dripped on the blade. Wynn led Danny over to his mother and gave him the blade. "Do it   
  
Danny. Stab her, don't kill her, just deep enough to draw blood."   
  
Without hesitation Daniel slid the blade across Kara's chest. He slowly cut into her   
  
chest and she screamed. Daniel gave the knife back to Wynn who signaled for a cult   
  
member to come over. The cloaked figure walked over to Kara and pulled out a test tube.   
  
He placed the test tube near her wound and pushed down on her chest, causing blood to   
  
ooze out of her and drip into the test tube.   
  
Wynn smiled, "It is done. Now we can transfer the curse." Kara passed out from   
  
the pain. Wynn snapped his fingers and two cloaked men walked over to untie her, "Take   
  
her back to her cell, and get those children up to the operating room. We must proceed   
  
with the blood transfusion immediately." The men carried Kara away.  
  
October 31st 2004  
  
Ridgemont Sanitarium  
  
Kara had a quick flash of her kidnapping. Old memories that she had blocked out   
  
years ago began to re-emerge. When Thom had rescued her from her cell all those years   
  
ago, she had only recently awoken. Who knows what had been done to her before that.   
  
She had a quick memory of being in a room filled with candles. Then it was gone. "Kara?   
  
Are you ok babe?" Kara blinked and looked over at Thom who was patting her shoulder.   
  
Lindsay and John were looking at her as well, "What?" she asked. Lindsay   
  
coughed, "You sort of zoned out Kara." Kara looked at Thom and smiled, "I'm fine."   
  
Lindsay opened a door labeled 'ARCHIVES' and they walked in. The room was dark and   
  
smelled mucky, like it hadn't been opened in years. Lindsay found the light switch and the   
  
room buzzed with a slight electrical charge.   
  
The lights came on dimly and John walked over to a shelf, "What's in all of these?"   
  
Lindsay walked past him down the seemingly never ending room, "This is where we keep   
  
all of our patients medical records. We have files dating back to the early fifties."   
  
Thom looked at the endless array of shelves, "Why are we here Linz?" Lindsay   
  
found the shelf she was looking for and got out a pair of keys. She unlocked the shelf and   
  
opened it, "I was told that Myers' file would be in here. I want to show you guys the   
  
records of his time at Ridgemont from 1978 to 1988." She found the folder and opened it,   
  
"What the hell.." She looked at the others in surprise, "It's empty. He took it."   
  
John looked at her in surprise, "Who took it?" Kara had another flash of memory,   
  
she remembered Danny cutting her and a figure collecting her blood. She remembered   
  
Wynn in the operating room with the other doctors. She realized why Danny and Stephen   
  
had been in there, they were going to have a blood transfusion so Stephen's blood would   
  
be mixed in with Danny's. She understood now, all the confusion that night. Loomis,   
  
disappearance after they left. He figured it out to, so they killed him. John asked Lindsay   
  
again, "Dr. Wallace, who took the file?" Kara answered loudly, "Wynn!"   
  
Haddonfield High School   
  
Daniel was pulled back suddenly just as Myers was nearly on top of him. He   
  
looked up and saw Miles yanking him to his feet, "Get up man! Let's go!" Dan snapped   
  
out of it and leapt up. The fire alarm rang loudly, echoing down the school hallways.   
  
Outside, Officer Starks had fallen asleep. He quickly awoke however when he heard the   
  
alarm.  
  
Michael walked back over to the blood spattered fire alarm and pushed his hand up   
  
against it, it broke under his push and the alarm stopped. He stepped over Ms. Harris'   
  
dead body and walked down the hall after the others.  
  
Dan and Miles were close behind Sara, Jesse and Stephen when they heard the   
  
alarm stop. Dan stopped suddenly and Miles ran back to grab him, "What's wrong, hurry   
  
up!" Dan yelled to the others, "Keep going!" Miles looked at Dan who ducked behind a   
  
corner. Miles could hear the Shape's footsteps coming closer, "Are you nuts?" Miles   
  
whispered. Dan looked at Miles and whispered back, "Go on, I'll be right behind you."   
  
Miles hesitated and Dan shoved him back, "Go!" Miles ran off and Dan stood waiting. He   
  
saw a fire extinguisher hanging nearby and grabbed it.  
  
The empty hallway darkened as the stretching shadow of the Shape came closer to   
  
where Dan was hiding. Dan heard Michael's breathing and quickly jumped out in front of   
  
him. Dan bashed Michael in the shoulder with the fire extinguisher and was about to bash   
  
him again when Michael's hand shot out and choked Dan. Dan clawed at the massive hand   
  
wrapped around his neck. Michael lifted Dan off the ground Dan could see white spots as   
  
his air supply was cut off.   
  
"Leave him alone!" Michael looked down to the end of the hallway and saw   
  
Stephen standing there. He dropped Dan and started towards the young boy. Jesse ran   
  
over to Stephen and picked him up. They backed up against a wall, "Leave us alone!"   
  
Jesse screamed. Dan managed to stand up and with a shaky hand, picked up the fire   
  
extinguisher. He ran up to Michael and smashed the extinguisher over his head. Michael   
  
fell to his knees and Dan ran past him to grab Jesse and Stephen, "C'mon!" They ran past   
  
Michael who shook off his injury and stood back up. He watched Stephen and the others   
  
run off but turned his sights on the other two who had escaped.   
  
Jesse was running out of breathe as Dan continued to run, yanking her arm along   
  
with him, "Wait Dan I, uh, hold on." Dan stopped and hugged them both, "Are you two   
  
ok?" They nodded and Dan looked back past them, "Where did Miles and Sara go?" Jesse   
  
turned around, "When we left you, Miles went back to get you but when he came back   
  
with out you, I ran back. They kept going, I think they were heading for the roof." Dan   
  
looked at her, "They probably didn't realize we separated."  
  
Sara and Miles were running up a second flight of stairs and finally burst through   
  
the door a the end. They found themselves on the roof and Miles looked around, "Where   
  
are the others?" Sara was catching her breath. She ran over and slammed the door shut,   
  
"They probably went another way. We have to hide Miles." Sara ran over to the edge of   
  
the roof and peered down, it was a long way. She noticed a police car parked next to a   
  
black van. She was about to shout for help when Miles ran behind her and clasped his   
  
hand over her mouth, "Shush, we have to get out of here!"   
  
They turned back and headed for the door when a loud bang rang from the other   
  
side, "Shit, he's here." Sara cursed. She and Miles ran to the other side of the roof, and   
  
hid behind a chimney stack. Michael burst through the doorway and walked out onto the   
  
roof. His heavy breathing was all Sara and Miles could hear as the Shape slowly walked   
  
around. Sara and Miles were slowly walking around to try and get to the doorway without   
  
Michael seeing them.  
  
They made their way around and saw the Shape had vanished, "He must have   
  
gone back down." Miles gave a sigh of relief. Sara walked over to the edge one more   
  
time, just to check. Miles went over to open the door, "C'mon Sara, we have to find the   
  
others." He opened the door while looking at Sara. Sara turned to look back at him and   
  
saw Michael standing in the doorway, behind Miles, "Miles! Watch out, he's right behind   
  
you!"   
  
Miles turned pale and slowly turned around. He was face to face with Michael   
  
Myers for the first time. Miles stepped back as Michael walked towards him. Before Miles   
  
could even blink, he felt a hot searing pain shoot up his body as Michael slid his knife   
  
between the young man's ribs. Miles felt his hands moisten with blood as he felt the   
  
wound. Michael pushed forward, the knife going deeper into Mile's side. Miles groaned in   
  
agony and Sara clasped her hands over her mouth. This couldn't be happening, not now.   
  
Not like this, after they had finally come together.   
  
Sara watched in horror as Michael grabbed Mile's shoulder with his free hand. He   
  
whirled the boy around so he was facing Sara. Sara cried as Michael walked towards her.   
  
She fell to her knees and crawled back out of his way. Miles was on the verge of passing   
  
out. Blood was leaking from his side, staining his sweater and pants. His hands were warm   
  
with his own blood and his legs were now numb. Michael lifted the boy off his feet and   
  
walked forward, Miles' legs dragging. Miles coughed up some blood and turned to look at   
  
his love with glossy eyes. "Sara…." He whispered as Michael held him at the edge of the   
  
roof.   
  
Sara worked up the strength to reach her arm out. Miles used what little strength   
  
he had left to gently stretch his arm out. Their fingers momentarily brushed past each   
  
other. Sara had tears streaming down her face as Miles turned paler. Michael pulled the   
  
knife out of Miles and used his other arm to throw the bleeding boy of the four story   
  
building. Sara screamed and ran to the edge as she watched her love fall.  
  
Officer Starks was on the radio with the Sheriff, "Mark? Come in Sheriff, we've   
  
got trouble. A moment ago the alarm went off and now it's stopped." Starks got his keys   
  
in the ignition and was about to start the car when a huge crash knocked him from his   
  
seat. Miles' body, broken and bloody had crashed through Starks' car windshield.   
  
Starks was shaking as he looked up to the roof. He jumped out of the car and fell   
  
to the ground covered in shards of glass. He grabbed his radio and tried to get a signal but   
  
the boy's impact had destroyed the dashboard as well. The radio was covered in blood and   
  
glass and Starks saw the blank expression on Miles' face. He climbed up to his feet and   
  
with a shaky hand, got out his walkie talkie, "We have trouble! I need immediate back up.   
  
We have a body, it's uh, one of the kids. I need back up now!"  
  
Sara crawled back and looked at the pale face in front of her, "You…bastard!"   
  
She lunged forward and the Shape merely smacked her with the arm he had just thrown   
  
her love to his death with. Sara flew across the roof and landed on her side. She got up   
  
and clutched her arm in pain. Michael held up his bloody knife as if to let her know she   
  
was it's next target. With a meek cry, she ran through the doorway and started down the   
  
stairs.  
  
Dan and Jesse were running to the first floor staircase with Stephen. They flew   
  
down the stairs and crashed into the front doors. They were locked. Jesse shrieked and   
  
shook the doors, "Somebody let us out!" Dan grabbed her, "Ms. Harris had the keys   
  
around her neck, we have to go back for them." Jesse backed up shaking her head, "No,   
  
please. We can't, I cant go back. I cant stand to see that…..all that blood." Dan held her,   
  
"I'll go then." Jesse sighed and tried to stop crying, "No, we'll go together but Stephen   
  
has to-" Dan turned around, "Stephen? Stephen!" Dan saw Stephen heading back up the   
  
stairs and the two teens ran after him.  
  
Sara was half running, half limping down the stairs. She kept turning back to see if   
  
Michael was behind her but he was nowhere in sight. She brushed her hair from her eyes   
  
and wiped the stinging tears from her face. Miles was dead. Sara was numb inside. She   
  
looked up once more and saw Michael at the top of the stairs heading down towards her.   
  
She picked up her pace and tried to run through the pain shooting up her leg and arm.  
  
  
  
Michael was close behind her and she turned back to see him raising his gleaming   
  
blade. She turned and dived for the ground and barely missed having her back slashed. She   
  
landed at the bottom of the stairs with a thud that took her breath away. She let out a cry   
  
for help but her voice was gone. She crawled for the door and headed out into the English   
  
hallway.   
  
She slowly got up and started limping down the dark hall. She closed her eyes and   
  
stifled another cry as she limped past Ms. Harris' lifeless body and the bloody wall she had   
  
been thrown against. She turned and started limping backwards so she could keep an eye   
  
on the hall, to see if Michael was still coming. He had vanished again and Sara continued   
  
to limp.   
  
She bumped right into Stephen and they both screamed. Stephen looked up at her   
  
with his pale face and she grabbed him, "We have to get out of here, where are the   
  
others?" Stephen wrestled free from her grasp and ran over to Ms. Harris' body, "We cant   
  
get out without the keys." He grabbed the keys from around the dead woman's neck and   
  
gasped as he saw the blood now on his hands.   
  
Sara looked back to the stairs Stephen had come up and saw Dan and Jesse   
  
running up them, "Let's go Stephen, now!" Stephen got up and ran over to Jesse who had   
  
just gotten to the top of the stairs. "Sara watch out!" Sara looked in surprise and turned   
  
around. Michael was at the other end of the hall walking towards her. She turned and   
  
started limping forward. Dan and Jesse shouted for her to hurry and Stephen looked   
  
behind her and screamed. Michael picked up his knife and threw it down the hallway. It   
  
flew threw the air about ten feet and pierced Sara in the lower back.   
  
Sara screamed and fell to the ground. Jesse and Dan screamed and Stephen ran   
  
over to Sara. She looked at him with tear stained eyes and whispered, "Pull it out, please   
  
pull it out…" Stephen yanked the knife out of Sara's back and she screamed again.   
  
Michael continued to walk towards them and Stephen tossed the knife aside. It slid across   
  
the floor and landed at Jesse's feet.   
  
She ran over to Stephen and pulled him away from Sara who was desperately   
  
trying to get up. The stab wound had penetrated her spine, "I can't walk! Go without   
  
me!" Stephen shrieked, "No! We're not leaving you." But Jesse pulled him back. He   
  
kicked and screamed and cried but she kept pulling until Dan was close enough to pick   
  
Stephen up. The three of them ran down the stairs and left Sara behind.   
  
Sara clawed at the ground and tried pulling herself along, like a worm. Her legs   
  
were dead weight now and it took all of her upper strength to reach the first step. She   
  
started pulling herself forward and saw the others frantically trying to unlock the front   
  
doors, "Get out of here!" They looked up at her and screamed, "Go!"   
  
Her cry was cut off as Michael walked past her and in a swift motion snapped her   
  
neck around with his hands. She fell to the ground, her head twisted the other way,   
  
Michael didn't even make a break in his stride, he just kept walking down the stairs   
  
towards the others.  
  
Jesse screamed as she watched Michael twist Sara's head around. Stephen tugged   
  
on Dan's pant leg and cried. Dan wiped some white make up off his sweaty brow and tried   
  
to concentrate on getting the doors unlocked. He didn't dare look back for fear of losing   
  
his focus. He could here Jesse and Stephen screaming and knew the Shape was getting   
  
closer. His hands were so shaky that he couldn't get the key to go into the lock.   
  
"Goddamnit hurry the fuck up!" Jesse screamed. She watched hysterically as Michael   
  
reached the ground floor, he was only twenty or so feet away from them and he was   
  
moving closer.  
  
TBC  
  
Author Note: Well….what a rush. I just cranked out two chapters in one day. Hope you guys are liking it! More coming soon!  
  
~Liz 


	12. House Arrest

***I don't own any Halloween characters except the ones I created.  
  
WARNING: Language, Gore, Violence, Death  
  
Chapter 12: House Arrest  
  
Dan fumbled with the lock on the school door as Jesse screamed, "He's coming!"   
  
Stephen was tugging on Dan's pant leg and crying and Dan could almost here the Shape's   
  
breathing. Just as he was about to turn the key in the lock, Officer Starks appeared at the   
  
other side of the door. "Get down!" he shouted as he lifted up his rifle. The three kids   
  
dropped to the floor and Jesse wrapped her arms around Stephen as Starks fired the gun.   
  
Glass flew everywhere as the door shattered. The bullet hit Michael right in the chest and   
  
sent him flying off his feet. He fell to the ground with a mighty thud and moved no more.   
  
Dan got up and frantically pulled Jesse and Stephen with him. Starks yelled to   
  
them, "C'mon! Hurry up!" They climbed under the chained lock, still intact with the key   
  
hanging in the lock. Jesse ran out of the school and immediately over to a bush to throw   
  
up. She was heaving and sobbing, the image of Sara's head being twisted still fresh in her   
  
head. She could still here the sickening snap her neck made when Michael yanked it   
  
around. Stephen walked over to Jesse and hugged her back while she coughed. He had   
  
teary eyes but was strangely transfixed. Dan brushed some glass of his shoulder and   
  
looked to officer Starks, "What are you doing here! How did you know!?" Starks quickly   
  
answered, "Your parents wanted me to tail you, Sheriff sent me to make sure you guys   
  
were safe. Guess I came just in time, I saw your other friend fall, he-oh shit…" Starks was   
  
looking back into the school. Dan turned his head and became pale at the sight ahead of   
  
him. Michael was gone.   
  
Jesse sat up and wiped her lips, she turned to Stephen and hugged him tightly,   
  
"Are you ok baby?" He nodded slowly, "Where's the boogeyman?" Jesse stood up, still   
  
clutching Stephen, and walked over to Dan. She saw him staring in the school and turned   
  
to look. She gasped when she saw the Shape not there. "Where'd he go?" Starks took his   
  
walkie talkie off his belt and turned it on, "Starks here. Over. I'm at the high school with   
  
Dan Strode, Jessica Taylor and Stephen Doyle. They're ok but the others are dead. I need   
  
immediate back up, Michael is….he was…I shot him. He's still on the loose." Starks   
  
reloaded his rifle and looked to the kids, "Now don't panic, we just have to wait, the   
  
other's should be here in just a minute." Jesse looked around and shouted, "What others?   
  
We need to get outta here like now! Where's your car!?" She took off running and Starks   
  
shouted after her, "You don't wanna do that, it's not a pretty sight!" Dan grabbed his   
  
brother by the arm and took off after Jesse.   
  
Jesse ran down the side of the school. Where the hell was Miles, had he gotten   
  
out? Maybe he ran for help. Oh god, Sara was dead, and Ms. Harris! Jesse tried to push   
  
those images out of her head. Just have to get to the car and everything will be ok. We'll   
  
get out of here and we'll be safe again. She turned a corner and saw the car off in the   
  
distance. A hopeful smile spread across her face as she ran towards the back parking lot.   
  
We'll be home soon and this nightmare will be over. She stopped dead in her tracks about   
  
twenty or so fee from the squad car. Jesse's eyes watered and she placed her hands over   
  
her mouth to hold back the scream. She started shaking her head, "No….god, no…" She   
  
started backing up. Dan and Stephen had caught up with her and she walked right into   
  
Dan. She turned around and started sobbing on his shoulder. He looked over her and his   
  
stomach filled with cement. Miles, his best friend, the one who had helped him for the past   
  
two years. The only guy who stuck by him even after he treated him like shit. Miles,   
  
covered in blood and glass lay on the hood of officer Starks' squad car. His head and   
  
shoulders pushed through the windshield, his arms twisted behind him. Jagged cuts   
  
sprinkled upon his face as he lay silently looking down.   
  
  
Officer Starks finally caught up to them and looked away in remorse, "I tried to   
  
warn you…" The sound of sirens could be heard in the distance and Starks taped Dan on   
  
the shoulder. The boy looked up to the officer, still clutching his broken girlfriend. "The   
  
cops are here, we'd better get you guys home." Dan led Jesse out to the front of the   
  
school. Starks picked Stephen up. The little boy just stared blankly at the carnage on the   
  
cop's car.   
  
  
Cole led the kids over to another squad car which had just pulled up by the school.   
  
Two more were parked behind it. Sheriff Grayson got out and ran over to Starks, "Cole,   
  
what the hell happened here!?" Starks shook his head and brushed his brow, "Michael…"   
  
Sheriff Grayson walked over to the front door of the school and looked at the glass. Cole   
  
looked up to his boss, "Mark, I had to. The kids, they were trapped." Mark smiled and   
  
nodded, "It's ok Cole. Just get those kids back home." Cole nodded and went over to   
  
another officer who was helping Dan and the others into the back of a squad car. Stephen   
  
looked over to the Sheriff, his eyes glossy and blank.   
  
Mark waved but the boy just stared at him as the car pulled out of the driveway   
  
and took off. Mark crossed his arms as he looked at the carnage in the school.   
  
"Henderson, what's the count so far?" Sheriff Grayson climbed under the chain and   
  
entered the school. He turned his flashlight on as two deputies walked over to him. They   
  
lowered their flashlights as Henderson answered, "Three sir. We got Miles Bartram out in   
  
back on Cole's car. Sara Moyer, as you can see is up there." He pointed to the top of the   
  
stairs and Mark looked up to see Sara's body lying. Mark started walking up the stairs. He   
  
stepped over Sara's body and looked back as the other deputy followed, "Gibbs? Any sign   
  
of Myers yet?" Deputy Gibbs shook his head, "Sorry sir, I got two teams scouting the area   
  
around the block but no trace of him yet." Mark looked around at the top of the stairs.   
  
Henderson followed Gibbs and the two walked up behind Sheriff Grayson, "Hell of   
  
a mess eh Mark." Mark nodded to Henderson, "She the other one?" He pointed to Ms.   
  
Harris' body and Henderson nodded. "Elizabeth Harris 43, she's been teaching here for   
  
fifteen years." Mark walked over to her and knelt down over her, he had known Elizabeth,   
  
they had gone to high school together. "Chain of events gentlemen?" Gibbs got out his   
  
clip board and Henderson started walking the sheriff through it, "From the looks of it, he   
  
came up behind her and stabbed her, then threw her into the fire alarm. That would explain   
  
how it went off." Henderson pointed his flashlight at the fire alarm which had a blood   
  
mark on it.   
  
Mark turned and walked over to the edge of the steps, right next to Sara's body.   
  
He knelt down and examined the girl's back, "She was stabbed too?" Gibbs peered down   
  
from his clipboard and checked Sara's back, "Looks like it sir." Henderson flashed his   
  
light at them and Mark winced, "Would you get that outta my face?" Henderson quickly   
  
lowered his flashlight, "Sorry sir." Mark turned back to Sara's body, he looked at the   
  
blood on her back and noticed a trail leading over to where Henderson was standing.   
  
Mark looked up at the deputy, Henderson shrugged, "What?" Mark looked back to the   
  
edge of the stairs and saw a second blood spatter sitting a good three feet away from   
  
Sara's body with no trail leading to it.   
  
Mark stood up and started speaking, "This blood on Sara, it was on her all the way   
  
over to the stairs." Mark trailed the blood and walked up to Henderson, he used his hands   
  
to position Henderson in the right place, "She was stabbed here." Henderson looked down   
  
at the beginnings of the trail. Mark slowly guided the deputies through the scenario while   
  
Gibbs jotted it down on his clipboard, "She was still alive. She…fell, started crawling. But   
  
the knife…was" Gibbs looked up at the sheriff when he paused, "Sir?" Mark looked at   
  
them both, "The knife was pulled out." He turned and walked over to the second blood   
  
spatter, "This puddle doesn't match with the trail, see, it doesn't have a path to Sara. The   
  
knife was pulled out and thrown." Mark knelt down and examined the puddle, "Myers is   
  
still missing…where's the knife?"  
  
Officer Starks was sitting in the passenger seat of the squad car. A second officer   
  
drove, he was quiet and Starks could tell he was concerned. Truth be told, Starks himself   
  
was concerned. How could he have let Michael get into the school, he should have been   
  
more careful. Cole looked in his rearview mirror and saw the three kids sitting quietly in   
  
the back. Jesse's face was wet from crying, her head lying on Dan's shoulder. Dan himself   
  
was looking at Stephen with a tired, worried look in his eyes. Stephen just sat on the right   
  
side, staring out the window as trees passed them by on the road. Cole felt his paternal   
  
instincts kick in and spoke up, "We'll uh, be back to your' house soon. There's an officer   
  
keeping an eye on the place and your neighbor has been notified and is waiting for you.   
  
We've contacted your parents Jessica, we'll drop you off at home first. We're still trying   
  
to contact your parents Dan." Dan looked at Starks with weary eyes, he didn't speak.   
  
Cole knew these kids had been through an ordeal and were still in shock.  
  
The car pulled up in front of Jesse's house and she got out, she looked at Dan and   
  
he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. She smiled and a tear fell from her eye, "Miles…" Dan   
  
nodded, "It'll be ok, I promise." Jesse let go and headed up to her front door. Her parents   
  
were waiting and came rushing out to hug her. Jesse looked back at Dan as they drove off.   
  
Stephen hadn't said a word since they left, he clutched his pumpkin bag tightly, his   
  
knuckles white from the force of his grasp. Dan noticed this and grasped his brothers   
  
hands in his own. They arrived back at their house and saw another squad car parked in   
  
the driveway. Cole got out and opened the door for Dan and Stephen, he looked at the   
  
driver, "Head back to the school, tell the Sheriff to keep a com link open for us. I'll stay   
  
with Merrick." The other cop nodded and drove off. Cole held his rifle over his shoulder,   
  
he walked up to the front door and knocked. Officer Dave Merrick answered the door and   
  
greeted Cole, "Are the kids alright?" Cole stepped aside so Dan and Stephen could enter   
  
their home. He watched as Diane jumped up from the couch and ran to embrace them,   
  
"Oh god kids, I'm so sorry! Are you dears alright?" Cole stood in the doorway, "I don't   
  
know, they survived that's the important thing." Merrick nodded and went over to the   
  
recliner where his rifle was lying. He picked it up and headed over to the kitchen, "I'm   
  
going out back to keep watch. I want you to stake out the front Starks." Cole nodded as   
  
Merrick went out the kitchen door.  
  
Cole looked over to Diane who was patting Stephen's head soothingly. He smiled,   
  
"I'm sure sheriff Grayson will get a hold of Thom and Kara as soon as he can. Keep an   
  
eye on them ok?" Diane nodded and Cole turned around and headed outside. Diane   
  
waited for the door to shut before she walked over and doubled the locks. She turned and   
  
looked at the two boys, "Just being safe."   
  
Ridgemont Sanitarium   
  
October 31st 2004 7:40  
  
"Who's Wynn?" John was looking back and forth between Kara and Thom. Kara   
  
had blurted out the name and startled everyone, especially Lindsay. How did Kara know   
  
Dr. Wynn? "Dr. Wynn, Terrence Wynn, he's the head of Smith's Grove Sanitarium as well   
  
as liaison to medical facilities throughout Warren County. He's also" Thom blinked,   
  
"Your boss. Son of a bitch, the bastard is your boss." Lindsay shut the filing cabinet   
  
drawer and folded her arms, "Thom, I don't understand what you and Kara are so   
  
concerned about." Kara turned red and her hands started to shake, "That bastard tried to   
  
take my sons!" Thom went over to hold Kara and turned to Lindsay, "Wynn is behind   
  
Michael's entire existence." Lindsay looked at him incredulously, "Are you insane? Dr.   
  
Wynn has been the head of the Myers investigation since 1992! He was a friend of Dr.   
  
Loomis' and he's been trying to capture Michael to prosecute him!"   
  
Kara broke Thom's embrace and stormed over to Lindsay, "I don't know what   
  
kind of crap he's been feeding you but your good doctor has been manipulating Michael   
  
since he was a child. He's the leader of the Thorn cult for god's sake!" Lindsay backed up   
  
and braced herself against a nearby filing cabinet, "Your wrong…he's trying to help…"   
  
Kara raised her arms and her eyes widened, "He's a madman Dr. Wallace! Don't you get   
  
it!? He's responsible for everything, Jamie, Stephen, John and his mother. He tried to   
  
curse my son! He made him do this!" Kara ripped her blouse collar and revealed the scar   
  
on her chest, the one her son had given her whilst under the influence of Wynn. "He's evil,   
  
more so than Michael."   
  
Lindsay started to realize what had been happening. Wynn had played her, all   
  
along he was just using her for his own agenda. Wynn had used Lindsay and his   
  
knowledge of her past to gain information on Michaels victims. "Shit…" Lindsay was   
  
biting her lip, she looked at John who was staring right at her. "John….I, I didn't know."   
  
John was trying to with hold his rage and pain as he spoke, "You were with her, with my   
  
mother. You gave her to him. You led Wynn to her, you led Michael to her!" John was   
  
shaking and Lindsay lifted her arms in defense, "I swear I have been trying to help. I tried   
  
getting through to your mother, I tried to get her to break free from her isolation."   
  
Thom's cell phone rang. He answered it, "Hello? WHAT!? Oh my god, are they   
  
ok!? Fuck, we're on our way." Thom hung up and grabbed Kara by the arm, his face   
  
white as a ghost, "We have to go now!" Kara put her hands over her mouth, "The   
  
kids….what happened Thom." Thom didn't speak, Kara shook his shoulders, "What   
  
happened!?" Thom looked at the trio, "Miles and Sara are…dead." John's eyes grew   
  
wide, he shouted in rage and bashed his fist against a nearby filing cabinet. The impact   
  
echoed through the room. Lindsay closed her eyes and silently cursed herself for trusting   
  
her boss. She knew there had to have been something else going on, why would Wynn   
  
want to gather everyone, and tonight of all nights!  
  
John had tears in his eyes, another member of his own flesh and blood was   
  
slaughtered at the hands of his bastard uncle. His mother, the sister he never knew, know   
  
Sara…they were all dead. He glared at Lindsay, "You knew! You KNEW!" He stormed   
  
over to her, Lindsay leaned up against the cabinet and started to quiet down, "I didn't   
  
know…I didn't know…" John was screaming in her face, "You knew she was in his   
  
bloodline and you didn't tell her, you didn't warn her!" Thon ran over and stepped in   
  
between them. He looked up at John who was breathing hard and tightening his fists in   
  
anger, "Damnit John we don't have time for this! The others are in danger now, we left   
  
them. Oh god, Kara…the kids, they're defenseless against him." Kara started looking   
  
around and glared at Lindsay, "We need to get back to town now! How long of a drive   
  
was it, 45 minutes? Lindsay, did you know this was going to happen?" Lindsay looked   
  
appalled, "Of course not, how could any of you think that! I swear to god I had no idea   
  
what Terrence was planning. The bastard played us all!" John was calming down and   
  
focused on one thing now, "He have to help the kids…Stephen, he's a target."  
  
Haddonfield IL   
  
October 31st 2004 7:50 pm  
  
Diane had put a kettle of milk on the stove and was preparing some hot cocoa for   
  
the boys. Dan was sitting on the couch with Stephen next to him. They were watching a   
  
Halloween movie on TV. Neither one of them was paying attention to the TV though,   
  
Stephen was having memories of the shadow man again. Dan was thinking about Miles   
  
and the horrible things he'd said to him before he had died. Diane came out of the kitchen   
  
with a tray in her hands. She had poured three cups of cocoa and set them on the tray,   
  
"Ok boys, this should warm you up a bit." She set the tray down and Dan took a cup. He   
  
handed a smaller cup to Stephen who grasped it in both hands. Stephen took a sip. Diane   
  
shivered, it had been raining earlier today but it had stopped a while ago. Now the   
  
temperature had dropped and a cold breeze had taken a hold of the town. She went back   
  
to the kitchen and poured some cocoa into two thermoses. She unlocked the kitchen door   
  
and stepped outside.  
  
Diane immediately shivered, she stepped off the porch and scanned the backyard   
  
for deputy Merrick. She saw him standing under the boys' tree house. Thomas had helped   
  
them build it three summers ago. Merrick was standing guard at the base of the tree.   
  
Diane wrapped her arms around her, al she was wearing was her red sweater and it wasn't   
  
enough to warm her up. She sauntered on over to the deputy, thermos in hand. "Officer?   
  
It's pretty cold out here so I made you some cocoa." Merrick lifted his finger up to   
  
his mouth and signaled for her to speak more quietly. She spoke more softly as she neared   
  
him, "Sorry, are you doing ok? Any sign of trouble?" Merrick took the thermos and set his   
  
rifle down, "No ma'am nothing yet. We don't know for sure if anything will happen but   
  
it's better to be safe." Diane nodded, "Did sheriff Grayson get a hold of Kara and the   
  
others?" Merrick nodded and smiled, "Yep, sure did. Just got off the radio with him a few   
  
minutes ago, said they were on their way. Should be back in an hour or so." Diane gave a   
  
sigh of relief, "Oh thank heavens. Well, I'm going to see if officer Starks wants something   
  
to drink. Don't freeze to death out here ok?" Merrick took another gulp of the steaming   
  
cocoa and smiled, "Thanks Ms. Hopkins."  
  
Diane headed back into the house and saw the two costumed youths drinking their   
  
cocoa. It was getting chilly in the house so she walked over to the fire place. She used the   
  
fire poker to brush some wood around and get the fire going some more, "That's better."   
  
Dan had taken his leather trench coat off and wrapped it around Stephen. The white make   
  
up on his face was smudged as a result of sweat and tears. The black streaks on his face   
  
had smeared under his eyes giving him a very ghostly visage. Stephen had taken the clown   
  
mask and stocking cap off awhile ago. His dark hair was messy from the cap and Diane   
  
smiled at the sight of them sitting there. "What are you guys watching?" Dan brushed a   
  
golden lock from his face as he looked up at Diane, "Frankenstein." Stephen watched as   
  
the monster on TV sat up. The mad doctor laughed and Stephen just rolled his eyes.  
  
Diane walked out to the front entrance and stepped outside. She found Starks   
  
sitting in Merrick's squad car and knocked on his window. He turned and on rolled it,   
  
"Need something?" She smiled and handed him the second thermos, "Thought you might   
  
need something." He smiled and gratefully accepted the drink. "You'd better get back to   
  
the kids." She smiled and turned back to head in.  
  
Stephen's cat Jonesy came over to him and started rubbing up against his leg. He   
  
picked the cat up and set him on his lap. "Nice kitty." Stephen started patting the cat. Dan   
  
smiled at his brother's innocence. Such a gentle boy. How could he be related to such a   
  
ruthless killer. Dan thought about this as Diane came in. She saw Jonesy with Stephen and   
  
asked, "Where's the other one?" Dan looked around and turned to Diane, "Zoe probably   
  
went upstairs or outside."  
  
Deputy Starks sat in the car drinking his cocoa. He was intent on staying focused.   
  
He looked over to the house and the surrounding trees. He thought for an instant that he   
  
saw he shape of a man walking behind the trees. Starks blinked and looked again. No sign   
  
of anyone. Starks got out of the car and slowly started to walk over to the trees. He aimed   
  
his rifle as he neared the trees. He got out his flashlight and turned it on. There wasn't a   
  
person in sight. He started walking along the side of the house and heard a branch snap   
  
behind him. He whirled around and aimed his rifle. Nothing. Starks turned his flashlight off   
  
and started backing up, if someone was back here he didn't want to give away his location   
  
just yet. He continued backing up not realizing someone was behind him. A shadowy   
  
figure loomed behind him and Starks backed up right against him. He jumped and turned   
  
around, "Jesus Merrick you scared the shit out of me!" Merrick took a drink of his cocoa   
  
and shrugged, "Sorry man. Trade sides?" Starks nodded, "Sure, keep an eye on the kids   
  
ok?" Merrick waved a hand as he headed for the front of the house. Starks, now more   
  
jumpy, headed into the back yard.   
  
Merrick walked into the front yard and saw that Diane had shut the curtains,   
  
"Great…" He turned around and tripped over a toy on the ground. He spilled some of the   
  
cocoa on his jacket, "Oh shit." Merrick heard a noise coming from the trees he had just   
  
passed. He turned and looked at the driveway where his car stood quietly. Starks had left   
  
the door open, "idiot." Merrick rolled his eyes but jumped when another sound came from   
  
the trees. He got his flashlight out and headed over to the trees. He got to the trunks and   
  
looked up into the leaves above him. All he could see was damp orange and red leaves.   
  
Merrick turned around to head back when he bumped into Zoe. "What the hell are you   
  
doing out here cat?" Zoe turned and ran over to the car. He jumped into the squad car and   
  
sat down in the passenger seat. Merrick scratched his brow and realized the noises must   
  
have come from the cat. He walked over to the car and flashed his light at the cat, "C'mon   
  
get out of there." The cat quietly hissed. Merrick looked down at the cat's paws and   
  
noticed how red they were. He leaned in closer and realized the cat was blood on it's   
  
paws, "Oh my god…" Merrick realized something was wrong. He reached into the car   
  
and pulled out the radio receiver. He turned it on and pulled the cord back a bit, "Sheriff,   
  
it's Merrick. Over. I think Myers is at the Doyle residence, get someone down here now!"   
  
Zoe started hissing more and backed up into the corner of the passenger seat.   
  
Merrick noticed this and looked at the cat. It's fur was on edge and it was   
  
growling at Merrick, "What's wrong?" He got back on the radio, "I repeat, suspect might   
  
be at the-" a hand shot out from behind Merrick and grabbed the radio cord. Another hand   
  
wrapped the cord tightly around Merrick's neck. Merrick fell to his knees and gasped for   
  
air. He looked up and saw the Shape's pale mask looking down at him. The shape pulled   
  
on the cord more and it tightened around his neck. Sheriff Grayson's voice came over the   
  
receiver hanging by Merrick's chest as he was slowly being strangled with it, "Merrick?   
  
I'm sending back up, just hang in there ok?" Merrick's eyes bulged and his face turned   
  
purple. The last thing he saw was Michael's white mask blurring out of focus. The sound   
  
of Zoe hissing faded into darkness as Merrick's heart slowed down. He felt his body   
  
shutting down and felt darkness consume him. Michael just stared at him through   
  
blackened eyes. He watched the deputy struggle some more then fall limp as he held the   
  
cord tightly around the man's neck. Merrick stopped moving, his mouth hanging open, his   
  
tongue swollen. Michael let go and the body fell to the ground. He looked into the car as   
  
Zoe continued to hiss.   
  
Diane was sitting on the couch reading a romance novel as the boys continued to   
  
watch Frankenstein on TV. She looked up at the clock, it was going on eight o'clock,   
  
where were Kara and Thom? Diane looked over to the boys, Stephen had fallen a sleep   
  
and was quietly slumbering next to Dan. Dan himself was getting droopy eyed. Diane   
  
spoke up, "How is Jesse doing? Is she going to be ok?" Dan's eyes shot open and he   
  
turned to look at Diane, "I don't know, I hope so. She's going to call later and maybe   
  
she'll come over to keep us company." Diane stood up and gathered the cups of cocoa   
  
and set them back on the tray. "Want any help?" Dan offered and Diane accepted. They   
  
stood up and gathered the dishes. Jonesy woke up and jumped down from Stephen's lap.   
  
He scampered over to the kitty door in the kitchen and went outside.   
  
Starks was walking the perimeter of the back yard when Jonesy came outside.   
  
Cole didn't notice the cat, he was busy flashing his light up at the tree house. He followed   
  
the light and saw a clothesline connecting from the tree house to the attic window of the   
  
house. Cole smiled at the sight of the tree house. He turned around and saw a shadowy   
  
figure standing at the kitchen door looking in. Cole tensed up, he realized who the figure   
  
was. It was Michael Myers, he was peering in to the house, staring at Diane and Dan   
  
putting dishes away. They didn't have a clue he was right outside. Cole had to do   
  
something, he couldn't let Michael get into the house, not like last time at the school. He   
  
wouldn't fail this time. Cole quietly aimed his rifle at Michael and started walking forward.   
  
He was silently praying to himself. Don't let him hear me, please god just give me one   
  
clear shot.  
  
Diane washed the cups in the sink while Dan dried them off. He needed something   
  
to do, anything to keep his mind off of the situation. Little did they know that the situation   
  
was right outside looking in at them.  
  
Cole was only inches away from Michael's back, he aimed the rifle at the shape's   
  
head and set his flashlight on his belt. Cole looked down for just an instant and saw it. His   
  
stomach churned and he let out a gasp. It was all Michael needed, he turned around and   
  
grabbed Cole by the throat. Cole dropped the rifle and tried to break free. He looked back   
  
at the red mess sitting at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at Michael who was using   
  
his free hand to pull his mask back down. Cole had interrupted a private moment for   
  
Michael and now he would pay. Cole interrupted Michael's feeding time. The deputy   
  
watched in horror as Michael plucked the flashlight from his own belt. This couldn't   
  
happen, Cole had to protect these people, they were going to die if he didn't do   
  
something. Michael raised the flashlight above Cole's head. Cole prayed for his soul for   
  
failing to save these people. Those poor bastards. Michael slammed the flashlight down   
  
onto Cole's head. Cole was stunned as the sharp force cracked his skull. Blood fell from   
  
his forehead as the Shape raised the flashlight again. He thrust it down a second time   
  
smashing the man's face. He raised the flashlight again and smashed it down once more.   
  
The man's hands fell to his sides and Michael let go. Cole Starks fell to the ground, his   
  
face smashed into a sticky red mush. His nose and jaw had been pushed into his skull. The   
  
flashlight had bashed his face in.   
  
Diane was just finishing the dishes with Dan when they heard a loud thud coming   
  
from outside. Diane walked over to the window and lifted the curtain, she peered out into   
  
the yard but didn't see anyone. "Where are the deputies?" Dan walked over to the window   
  
and stood behind Diane. Stephen stood in the kitchen doorway and startled the other two   
  
when he said, "Where's Jonesy?" Diane shifted her gaze to the kitchen door. She looked   
  
back at the boys, "Stay here." She walked over to the door and slowly unlocked it. She   
  
gently cracked it open and looked outside. Nothing but a cold breeze and a few rain drops   
  
greeted her. She gave a sigh of relief and looked down. There, she saw Cole lying in a   
  
puddle of blood, his face bashed in. She screamed and slammed the door. Just then a loud   
  
crash came from behind her. Dan and Stephen screamed as something shattered the   
  
kitchen window they were just looking through. Diane jumped back and ran over to the   
  
boys. Stephen shouted, "Jonesy!" Diane turned around and gagged. Jonesy had been   
  
thrown through the window, his stomach had been ripped open like someone had   
  
been…feeding.   
  
Diane pushed the boys back away from the cat and used her hands to cover   
  
Stephens's eyes. Dan shouted out and Diane screamed as the kitchen door was blown   
  
open. The door shattered into fragments of wood as Michael Myers plowed through it.   
  
Dan grabbed Stephen by the hand and pulled him back. Diane stood in front of them and   
  
screamed at Michael, "Leave them alone! Don't you come near them!" She started   
  
backing up and screamed again when she noticed that Michael was holding Zoe by her tail,   
  
the cat had similarly been ripped open and…eaten.   
  
The three terrified people backed up into the living room where the TV blared loudly. The   
  
mad scientist screamed from the scream, "I've created a monster!"  
  
~TBC  
  
Author's Note: Wow! Michael's really pissed! The next few chapters are going to be clustered together because they're going to be cliffhangers like this one. I promise I wont make you wait long tho!!! 


	13. The Boogeyman

Chapter 13: The Boogeyman  
  
Haddonfield IL  
  
October 31st 1989  
  
The Myers House  
  
Jamie climbed out of the laundry shoot, her leg bleeding. She stumbled to the door and shook the handle. She limped out into the hallway and searched for a way out of the house. The place was locked down and the cops were gone thanks to Loomis, now Jamie was trapped alone in the house with her uncle. She looked at the attic stairs and saw light coming from above. Curiously, she began limping up the stairs. She felt the hot tears on her face as she reached the attic floor.   
  
The massive attic reached up into an arc, candles were scattered around the room casting red shadows over the rotting wood. Jamie noticed a dirty bathtub sitting in the middle of the room, with a coffin set on top of it. She remembered what Loomis had told her about the coffin of a nine year old girl being stolen from the cemetery and it gave her a cold chill. She backed away from the tub and right into a body. She turned and screamed, "Max!" Her beloved dog was hanging by his leash. She turned to get away and bumped into the mutilated body of Tina's boyfriend. Jamie screamed and turned to run for the stairs when she saw the most horrific sight.   
  
"RACHEL! NOO!" Jamie screamed in horror as she came face to face with her step sister. Rachel sat very dead in a chair, a deep stab wound in her chest. Blood had flown down over her white sweater. Jamie began to cry when she heard steps coming from the staircase. Jamie saw a shadow coming up the stairs and started to back up, "Rachel…help me…" She saw Michael coming up the stairs and started looking for somewhere to hide. She came to the inevitable, the coffin. Jamie climbed into the coffin and lay down just as Michael reached the top of the stairs.  
  
Michael walked over to the coffin and looked down at his prey. Jamie looked up at him with fearful eyes. He raised his knife and prepared to finish off the last of his lineage when she spoke up. "Uncle? Boogeyman…let me see?" Something deep within Michael stopped him from slaughtering the little girl. It grew within him and made him reach up for his mask, and pull it off. Jamie looked into the dark face of her stalker and saw herself in those lonely eyes, "Your just like me." The last of Michael's ancient humanity slipped from his body in the form of a tear sliding down his face. Jamie realized her connection to him, she knew this was her last chance to reach the goodness within him, "Let me…" She reached her arm out past his bloodstained arms and tried to brush the tear away when the rage took him again. He lurched back and pulled the mask on, his shield from the world. Jamie knew she had failed and could only run for her life again. Michael was lost to the rage and there was no going back.  
  
Haddonfield IL  
  
October 31st 2004  
  
The Doyle House  
  
Michael stood in front of Diane and looked down at her breathing heavily. Diane had a stern look on her face but she was still afraid. Dan and Stephen had been pushed behind Diane and were in the living room. Diane backed up into the living room and began waving her right hand toward the front door. Dan saw what she was doing and yanked Stephen with him as they ran over to the front door. Michael tried to walk over to them but Diane got in the way, "Stay back!" He looked at Dan and Stephen. He stared at Stephen through the black eye holes carved into his white mask. Stephen stared back, losing himself in the Shape's gaze. Stephen looked into those deep black holes, voids of nothing. He felt himself drawn in once more, just like at the school.   
  
Diane waved her arm again and shouted, "Get out!" Dan started to unlock the door and Michael plowed forward. He swung his left arm and knocked Diane off her feet. She flew over the coffee table and lost her breath. She looked up and saw Michael heading towards the kids. She had to stop him. She looked around for anything nearby that she could use as a weapon. She found the fire poker resting against the fire place next to the coffee table and grabbed it.   
  
Dan screamed as Michael came towards them. Stephen did nothing but stand motionless, transfixed in the Shape's stare. Michael was nearly upon them when Diane came up behind him with the fire poker poised high in the air. She cracked the poker down on Michael's back. He arched his back and turned around. She whacked him again, this time on his shoulder. Michael fell to his knees and swung dizzily from side to side. Diane Screamed to the boys, "Go!" She swung the poker again and cracked the side of his head. Michael flew into the TV sending it and the entertainment center crashing to the ground fight in front of the boys. The entertainment center hit the front door causing it to jam shut. With the front exit blocked, their next bet was the stairs. Dan looked at Diane who was pointing the poker at Michael who was slowly getting up. She nodded and he took Stephen by the hand and shooed him up the first couple of steps. The little clown looked at Diane and then down to Michael who was shaking off his injuries. Dan whispered sharply, "Hurry up, go!"   
  
They ran up the stairs just as Michael stood up. He looked down at Diane once more and she started backing up, aiming the sharp end of the poker inches away from Michael's chest. Diane glared at the Shape and spoke, "I'm not going to let you kill them. He started walking towards her and lifted his knife. She quickly whacked his hand and the knife flew out of his grasp and landed on the floor next to the shattered television. Diane and Michael walked in a slow circle until it was her who was in front of the stairwell. She backed up slowly over the TV and entertainment center pieces. She slowly climbed the stairs while Michael advanced. Michael reached his arm out again to grab her and she whacked it away leaving a bloody cut on his hand.   
  
She reached the top of the stairs and looked down the hallway where she saw Dan and Stephen standing. She signaled above them and they looked up, the attic. Dan jumped and reached the handle hanging above. The ceiling door fell to the ground with the wooden ladder close behind. Dan helped Stephen up the ladder and then climbed up himself. He left the door open as they climbed into the attic. Diane slowly backed up towards the attic door with Michael picking up pace. He reached for her again and she swung the poker at him but this time he didn't get hit. He swiftly maneuvered and got out of the way.   
  
She swung again but missed and knocked the cordless phone off the wall. She swung again, trying desperately to knock Michael out but instead he grabbed the poker with his bleeding hand. He yanked out of her hands and flipped it over. Michael moved towards her now with the fire poker aimed at her. Diane's expression changed to that of inevitable terror as she saw him pull his arms back. He lunged forward and jammed the poker into her stomach. Diane screamed and grabbed the poker with her hands. She pooled all her strength into pulling it out but Michael pushed it in further. Diane felt her mouth fill with blood and looked up at Michael with a combination of fear and anger. She spat the blood in his face and it smeared over his mask. Michael lifted the poker handle and Diane was yanked off her feet. She yelped in pain and continued to grasp at the poker buried deep within her. Michael looked up at the open ceiling and then thrust the poker into the corner of the wall. Diane was pushed upwards where she hit the ceiling and felt the poker continue on through her. Her eyes bulged and her arms fell to her sides as the poker rammed through her.  
  
Dan and Stephen had reached the attic and were searching for a window when Dan remembered Diane was still downstairs. "We have to go back for her!" He tied to run over to the door on the ground but Stephen was pulling him back, "No!" Dan pulled hard and freed himself from his little brother. He was running forward and was practically at the door when a sharp object crashed through the floor and sliced his foot open. Dan jumped back and grabbed his foot. He hopped around for a moment before falling onto his butt. He clutched his wound and looked at the floor. The fire poker head was sticking out of the ground red with blood.   
  
Dan crawled forward and saw Michael at the bottom of the ladder looking up. Dan started pulling up on the ladder to get it to close but Michael's hand shot out and he started to pull it back open. Dan struggled and shouted for Stephen, "Stephen, he's too strong! I need help!" Stephen ran over and helped Dan. Together they continue to pull upwards and the door started to give. Michael reached out and grabbed the second ladder step and it broke under his strength. The first one similarly broke and the ladder slipped Michael's grip. The boys fell back at the sudden release and the door slammed upwards.   
  
Dan stood up but quickly fell over. He grabbed his right foot and pulled his shoe off. His sock was stained red and he pulled it off to examine his cut. It was long but not too deep. The poker had only slice the side of his foot. Stephen looked at his brother's cut, "Does it hurt?" Dan put pressure on the wound, "Kinda. We need to get outta here." Dan slid over to a stack of boxes and started pushing them over to the door, "Gimme a hand." Stephen went over to the boxes and together they blocked of their only safe exit, not that it was very safe anymore.   
  
Stephen looked at the poker tip sticking out of the ground next to them, "Diane?" Dan looked Stephen in the eyes, "She's not coming. Don't think about it, just help me pry that window open." Stephen helped Dan up and let him lean on his small shoulders. They raggedly walked across the attic over to the window. Stephen grabbed the lock and tried to pry it free but it was jammed shut. "Lemme try." Dan gave a good tug but to no avail, the lock wouldn't come free. Dan looked around and found his little league baseball bat sticking out of a dusty box. "Ok, phase two." He smashed the window open and cleared the glass.   
  
He dropped the bat, "up you go, watch your step bud." Stephen climbed up and stuck his head out the window. He looked down and felt his bladder weaken. They were three stories up and the ground was a long way down. Stephen pulled his head out and looked at Dan, "I can't, it's too high!" Dan climbed up and looked down, "We're not going down." He grabbed the clothesline tightly tied to the tree house in the back yard, "We're going across."  
  
Jesse had gone to her room and told her parents she was going to bed. They didn't argue and she had gone upstairs. She had tried to sleep but couldn't. All she could think about was Miles, Sara and Ms. Harris. She couldn't believe they were dead. They were all dead. Jesse was still in shock but had decided she needed to be with Dan and Stephen. They still weren't safe and she needed to be there to help them. She had tried calling them but when the other end was busy she knew something was wrong. She decided to go over there. She had snuck out of her room and quietly gone down stairs to slip out the back door. When she had gotten to the street she had remembered that her car was still at the school and couldn't be moved because it was part of a crime scene. She would have to walk…run to Dan's house.   
  
It had taken about twenty minutes to get there but when she did she got the worst surprise. She saw Officer Merrick sitting in his squad car and hollered, "Where are the others!" She ran up to the car and noticed the door was slightly closed. She opened the door and screamed. Officer Merrick was sitting dead in is seat with dark bruises around his neck from the cord still hanging around him. His eyes were red from the burst blood vessels and the radio had been smashed. She backed up and looked at the house. She didn't know what to do. Should she go in and find the others or should she run away and get help. She realized that if Michael was here, then no one else would be able to help them. She needed to get to Dan and Stephen before Michael did. She ran up to the front door and tried to get in but it was jammed shut. She ran over to the window next to it and used her elbow to smash it. Then, she climbed into the house.  
  
Jesse entered the house and immediately gasped. She saw the TV on the ground still emitting a static sounding voice from within it, the screen was crushed and sparks were flying out of it. Jesse could smell the light smoke coming from the set and covered her nose in disgust. She ran into the kitchen to look for any signs of Dan or Stephen and felt her stomach churn when she saw the door on the ground in pieces. She saw the broken window and the two mutilated cats and she turned away in revulsion. She went back into the living room and stepped over what used to be the entertainment center. She started to climb the stairs and was nervous as she looked around.   
  
She reached the top and felt something warm fall onto her shoulder. She looked up and had to clasp her hands tightly over her mouth to keep her scream from being heard. Diane was pinned up against the wall and ceiling, her head was down and blood was stained on her mouth and neck. The long fire poker was jutting out of her abdomen pinning her to the wall. Jesse backed up and tripped over the cordless phone on the floor. She lost her balance and tumbled down the flight of stairs and hit her back on a corner of the splintered wood from the entertainment center.  
  
15 Miles from Haddonfield  
  
Thom was driving down the freeway with Kara, they were right in front of Lindsay and John who were following them. Kara tried the phone again, "Shit, it's still busy." Thom sped up, passing a semi truck. The truck beeped at him as he passed without signaling. He looked in his rearview mirror and saw Lindsay also changing lanes to catch up, "I cant believe she's been in on this." He tightened his grip around the steering wheel. Kara redialed on her cell phone while she spoke, "She didn't know, she was mislead us like the rest of us. You saw her, she was just as mortified as we were when she found out what had happened." Thom slammed his hand down on the dashboard in anger, "God Damn it!" Kara tried to put her hand on his shoulder but he shook it off. She looked hurt, "Thom, it'll be ok. The sheriff will-" Thom snapped back, "It wont be ok. He'll never die! Mark cant do anything to stop him. We couldn't, how could he? God, Sara…and Miles, how many more people have to die at his hands before someone can stop him!?" Kara looked down in her lap. She felt tears coming but closed her eyes and forced them away, "I know." Was all she could say. She knew all too well. She remembered that night eight years ago. Her mother, her brother, Beth, even her bastard of a father. None of them deserved that.   
  
Lindsay was silent as she drove. John had finally calmed down and she didn't want to say anything to upset him further. She had done enough, how could she have been so stupid. Top of her class at Quantico, and she was asked to police the psycho who had stalked her as a child. She shouldn't have been so blind, so arrogant. She had jumped at the opportunity to work on a case that had drawn nationwide headlines. She had been so enthused about profiling all his surviving victims, herself included. She should have known, she should have paid more attention to Loomis' manuscripts. Sam had suspected for years that Michael had some kind of reasoning to his carnage, some higher power at work. He even had the audacity to claim someone from the inside had influence over Michael. She should have listened to this, should have realized Wynn had an agenda. Why else would he want her on the case, of all people, she was the only one who had previously encountered the monster and lived to tell the tale.   
  
John glanced over to Lindsay who was quietly scolding herself in her naiveté, John knew she meant well but this had been so obviously planned. He had known since the night he got Thom's email that someone had been orchestrating this whole ordeal. This Wynn, had been playing with everyone's lives like a chess game, and Michael was his knight. John realized he had unjustly lashed out at Dr. Wallace, she hadn't known about Wynn's plan, she couldn't have. Could she? "Dr. Wallace, I, I'm sorry about what I said. It was out of line." Lindsay lifted her brow and looked at John, "No it wasn't John, you were right. This is my fault. I should have known better, I should have realized what was going on. Now people are dead and their blood is on my hands." John quickly reassured her otherwise, "No, their blood is on Michael's hands. His and Wynn's."   
  
Doyle Residence  
  
Dan tried to coach Stephen into climbing onto the clothesline. It was a strong wire, it could support him if he went alone. Dan would go second and hopefully, quickly enough to get across before the line broke. Dan glanced back at the attic door covered in the boxes, there was no movement, no sign of Michael trying to get through. Stephen looked at Dan and waited. Dan crawled back over to the door and set his head down on the cold wooden floor. The dust rising from the ground made him cough but he stifled the sound. Stephen whispered to his brother, "Is he gone?" Dan got up and whispered back, "I don't know, I think so." Stephen looked back at the boxes and decided to take his chances on the clothesline, "Help me up?" Dan climbed up over to the window and wrapped his arms around the small boy, "Hang on, I'll carry you up there." Stephen clung to his brother's shoulders as Dan climbed out the window.  
  
The cool breeze made them shiver and Stephen immediately looked down. Dan felt his brother tense up and quickly said, "Stephen, listen to me. Don't look down, just look at me, keep your eyes on me." They were on the ledge three stories high, Dan could feel shingles sliding under his feet and knew he had to move quickly. He slowly set Stephen down and the boy climbed on to the wire, "Be careful, don't look down." Dan encouraged his brother who had broken out in a cold sweat. Dan tried again, "Just look at the tree house kiddo, remember when dad built it?" Stephen closed his eyes and froze. Dan leaned forward and tried to encourage his frightened brother, "Remember? Dan sprained his ankle when he fell out and you were afraid he'd broken his funny bone because he couldn't stop laughing?"   
  
Stephen opened his eyes and looked at the dark tree house, he remembered all the good times that they had in there. Suddenly he was more determined to get across. His little arms and legs began to pull him as he shuffled across the wire. He was about half way across when a shout made him shake and almost lose his balance. He squeezed the wire tightly and the metal line started to cut into his hands. Stephen had to do it, he looked down felt the wire shake.  
  
Jesse had gone into the back yard to look for Dan and Stephen. She had apprehensively gone through the shattered doorframe and stepped over Starks' body. She stood in the yard a moment trying to keep herself from crying, she'd seen so many bodies tonight.   
  
She looked up and saw Stephen on the wire and immediately shouted for him, "OH MY GOD!" Dan looked down and Stephen lost his grip, he nearly fell. She immediately ran over to the massive oak tree and started climbing up the rope ladder hanging from the tree house. She frantically clambered up the tree and slid over to the other end of the wire where she reached for Stephen. He was still too far away, he was dead center of the wire and had frozen.   
  
Jesse started encouraging him along with Dan, "It's ok baby, come on, I'm right here. Come to me baby." Stephen felt tears in his eyes but tried to blink them away. Jesse saw this and tried to speak more soothingly, "Your so close baby, just a little further. I can almost reach you." He started climbing forward towards Jesse. He kept his head up and his eyes focused on hers. Jesse forced herself to smile for the little boy and keep him moving.  
  
Stephen looked at Jesse and got confused when her expression changed from encouragement to terror. She looked up to Dan on the other side of the wire still on the ledge. She looked past him into the attic and saw the boxes on top of the attic door shaking. She saw a large hand break through the door and smash the boxes out of it's way. She saw another hand clutching a butcher's knife slowly pulling a large dark blue torso. She saw the white face staring at her and Stephen deep from within the attic. She felt her pulse quicken as the shape slowly climbed up into the attic and rose to full height. Jesse closed her eyes praying it was her imagination.  
  
She opened her eyes and bit her lip hard before screaming to Dan, "Dan! Behind you!" Dan turned around and stumbled back on the ledge, nearly losing his balance. Stephen turned his head back and screamed as Michael slowly walked towards the window. Jesse shouted to him, "No Stephen, don't look back, don't look back. Just look at me and come to me." Stephen looked at her and saw the fear in her eyes. He picked up his pace and crawled forward. And reached his arm out to Jesse. She grasped his fingers in hers and held tight as she pulled him up onto the tree house ledge.  
  
Stephen crawled up and hugged her tightly. They looked back at Dan who was still on the other side. Jesse shouted to him from across the yard, "Go now! He's coming!" Stephen screamed, "Danny! He's behind you!" Dan was shaking and in a cold sweat. His adrenaline was pumping and he didn't look back. He climbed out onto the wire and started shuffling forward. His foot was still sore from the cut but he forced it around the wire to push him.  
  
Suddenly he was jerked back violently. He turned and screamed as Michael pulled him back with his free hand. His blood stained hand was wrapped tightly around the boy's ankle and he was pulling him back onto the ledge. Jesse screamed and pleaded for him to hurry. Dan looked back at Michael who raised his other hand in the air, the gleaming butcher's knife shining in the moonlight. Dan struggled and managed to kick Michael in the chest. It was enough to get the shape to let go and Dan started to crawl forward as fast as he could. Jesse screamed again, "Watch out!!" Dan didn't turn back, he couldn't, but suddenly the wire shook violently. He looked up at Jesse and Stephen still too far to reach then he turned back and held his breath in fear. Michael was yanking on the wire trying to break it from the knot.   
  
Dan crawled forward again but Michael reached out and yanked him back again. He was using all his strength, but Dan just couldn't free himself this time. The knot was slipping and Dan could feel the slack giving way as the wire started to loosen. He looked up at Jesse one more time and reached his arm out. She ran to the edge of the tree house and reached out as far as possible, Stephen had to hold her back to keep her from falling. Michael stumbled forward near the edge of the attic ledge.  
  
Then the knot broke.  
  
~TBC 


	14. Trick Or Treat

***I don't own the Halloween series or any of the characters except the original ones I created.  
  
Chapter 14: Trick Or Treat  
  
Dan looked back in terror as Michael stumbled off the ledge, still holding onto  
  
Dan's ankle. The wire rope snapped and Dan and the Shape fell downwards. The wire  
  
swung down and across the yard. Dan screamed as he was hurled into the tree. He nearly  
  
let go of the rope but managed to maintain his grip. Michael looked up at the boy and  
  
began squeezing his ankle harder. Dan felt the bones in his ankle growing tight, ready to  
  
break. He took his free leg and started kicking Michael's hand away. He stomped down  
  
on the Shape's fingers until they let go.  
  
Michael plummeted down and hit the ground hard. He did not move. Dan caught  
  
his breath and looked up, he could see Jesse and Stephen peeking over the edge of the  
  
tree house. He shouted up to them, "I'm okay!" Jesse gave a sigh of relief. Dan started  
  
climbing down to the ground and fell with a gentle thud. He sat there exhausted and  
  
relieved. He nursed his sore ankle and waited for Jesse and Stephen to come down.  
  
His back was turned and he did not notice when Michael silently sat up and  
  
turned his head to look at the boy. Dan took a deep breath and started to get up, he bit his  
  
lip to negate the pain in his leg. Michael quietly rose at the same time. Dan started to  
  
stumble over to the tree, Michael slowly started lumbering towards him. Dan looked up  
  
to Jesse and Stephen and noticed they were both frozen, paralyzed with fear. Dan felt the  
  
hair on his neck stand on edge and listened. He heard past the wind blowing and the  
  
leaves brushing along the ground, he heard the footsteps.  
  
Dan quickly jumped to the ground and crawled around to the other side of the  
  
tree. Jesse shouted at him, "The rifle! Get the rifle!" Dan peered from behind the tree and  
  
saw Michael looking up at Jesse and Stephen. He ran past Michael and limped across the  
  
yard as fast as he could. Michael didn't stop Dan, instead he knelt down and picked up  
  
his knife. Dan ran over to the back porch and found Officer Starks' body. The bloody  
  
flashlight and rifle were nearby. Dan picked up the rifle and ran up to Michael. He stood  
  
about ten feet away from the Shape.  
  
"Michael." Dan called, and Michael slowly turned around. He breathed heavily,  
  
almost like he was daring Dan to pull the trigger. Dan felt weak in the knees as he stared  
  
at those black eyes. "Shoot him!" Jesse screamed from the tree above. Dan didn't think  
  
twice, he pulled the trigger. A loud shot rang from the Doyle's back yard. All over the  
  
neighborhood, porch lights cam on. Dan pulled the trigger again and shot Michael a  
  
second time, knocking him back. He shot him a third time and Michael was blown back  
  
against the tree. His arms flailed from the shockwave. Dan shot him two more times and  
  
Michael fell to the ground in a pool of blood.  
  
Michael stared upwards, his blank white face looking into Stephen's soul.  
  
Stephen looked over to the edge from up in the tree house while Jesse ran to the edge to  
  
see if Dan was ok. She peered over the wooden ledge and Saw Dan wall to the ground.  
  
He sat down and dropped the rifle, breathing heavily. Jesse called to him, "Dan? Are you  
  
ok?" Dan waved a hand at her signaling he was fine. She gave a sigh of relief.  
  
Michael's body was motionless after being filled with three rounds. Blood was  
  
slowly leaking into the moist dirt under him. It started to rain again. Water began falling  
  
from the sky as if the heavens were weeping. Stephen continued to stare at Myers,  
  
transfixed. He got dangerously close to the edge of the tree house base. Jesse didn't  
  
notice until it was too late. She turned and saw Stephen standing at the edge, "Stephen get  
  
back!" Stephen broke from his trans and lurched forward. He slipped on the wood now  
  
sleek from the rain and fell over the ledge. Jesse screamed and reached for him but she  
  
wasn't quick enough. Stephen plummeted out of the tree and hit the ground below not ten  
  
feet away from Myers' body.  
  
Dan hollered up to Jesse, "He fell!" He jumped up and limped over to Stephen, he  
  
didn't even blink as he stepped over Myers. "Stephen! Wake up bro..." Stephen's eyes  
  
were closed and Dan placed a hand next to Stephen's face. E brushed his hand into  
  
Stephen's hair and pulled back in horror...blood. Jesse had raced down the rope ladder  
  
and was at Dan's side in an instant, "Is he ok? Oh god!" Dan looked at the blood, "His  
  
head..." Jesse started crying, "Jesus, he's not breathing. Dan he's not breathing!" Dan  
  
started pushing on his chest and performing CPR just as they heard sirens in the distance.  
  
Suddenly a large white light came from above, blinding Dan and Jesse.  
  
They looked up with hands over their faces and saw a helicopter overhead. It's  
  
searchlight was on them as it landed in the backyard. Two ambulances arrived on the  
  
scene with Sheriff Grayson close behind. He got out of his squad car and race into the  
  
house, past Merrick. He saw Diane's body and got on his radio, "Where the hell are  
  
Thom and Kara! Myers has been at the house!" Grayson saw the kitchen and the bloody  
  
mess in it and ran through the empty doorframe. He shouted to the policemen and  
  
paramedics in the front yard, "In the back yard!" He ran up to Dan and Jesse and saw  
  
Michael's body. He saw Dan performing CPR on Stephen and noticed the boy's face had  
  
turned blue. "Get a medic over here now!"  
  
Two paramedics raced to the scene and pushed Dan and Jesse back. Dan was  
  
yelling at them, "He cant breath! I need to do something!" Jesse was praying to herself.  
  
The first medic got a needle out, "We need to open his windpipe" he stuck the needle into  
  
Stephen's throat and put an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose, "We need to get him  
  
to the hospital, now." The two paramedics picked the little boy up and a third medic  
  
raced to their side with a stretcher. They loaded the boy up and headed to the ambulance.  
  
Sheriff Grayson saw two cars pulling up to the side of the road, "Thom, bout  
  
time." Thom saw the commotion at the house and quickly got out. He raced past the first  
  
ambulance parked on the road. He saw a few men in suits get out of the helicopter and  
  
then saw him..."Wynn." Terrence Wynn got off the helicopter and was running to the  
  
paramedics surrounding Myers, "I want him taken alive." Thom ran to the house as Kara  
  
got out of the car, "What the hell is going on?" She saw Stephen being rolled out on a  
  
stretcher and screamed, "Oh god, Stephen!" She ran up to the paramedics and was  
  
yelling, "What happened, is he ok?" They looked to her and one said, "He needs to get to  
  
the hospital, we need to move. Just let us do our jobs ma'am."  
  
Kara was frantic as Thom ran up to the Sheriff, "Mark! What happened?" He saw  
  
Wynn walking with the second group of medics who had loaded Michael onto a stretcher.  
  
Thom screamed at Wynn, "You!" Wynn looked up in surprise and smiled smugly. Thom  
  
ran over to the older man and punched him in the jaw. Wynn fell back and Sheriff  
  
Grayson raced to pull Thom back, "Not now man, you got bigger things to worry about."  
  
Thom looked at Dan and Jesse who had come out from the back yard. They both had  
  
tears in their eyes. Thom looked down to Wynn, "If anything happens to my son, I swear  
  
to god I'll kill you." Dr. Wynn slowly got up and a black suited man came to his aid.  
  
Wynn brushed him off and smoothly said, "You're a little late Mr. Doyle. It seems 'your'  
  
boy is already in critical care. Why don't you go attend to your family and let me attend  
  
to mine." Thom glared at the man but backed off. He walked over to Kara who was  
  
trying to plead with the paramedics, "They wont let me go along."  
  
All the while John and Lindsay had been watching the chaos quietly. They had  
  
arrived at the same time as Thom and Kara but didn't know exactly what to do. Lindsay  
  
saw Wynn and glared, "That bastard, this is all his doing." The helicopter was in the back  
  
yard and a group of men in dark suits came out. They ran over to John and asked, "Are  
  
you John Tate?" John looked at them confused, "yes, but what do you-" The first man in  
  
black cut him off, "You need to come with us. We need to get you out of here for your  
  
protection." John backed up and looked at Lindsay, Lindsay looked at the men confused,  
  
"Why?" John stood tall and said, "I think I'm needed here, I'm staying." A second man  
  
in black grabbed John by the arm and the first grabbed him by his other arm, "You're  
  
coming with us." John struggled, "Hey! Get the fuck off me!" They dragged him across  
  
the yard and into the back yard where the helicopter was waiting.  
  
Dr. Wynn had walked away from the commotion out front and watched as John  
  
was practically thrown into the helicopter. Wynn smiled and was about to get on when  
  
Lindsay ran up to him. "Dr. Wynn don't you dare turn your back on me." Terrence  
  
stopped and turned around. Lindsay stood glaring at him. Dr. Wynn smiled, "What can I  
  
do for you Dr. Wallace?" Lindsay folded her arms, "You know damn well what. I want  
  
an explanation. What the hell is going on!" Wynn looked at the stairs leading to the  
  
helicopter, John was fighting and trying to get off but the men were holding him back.  
  
Lindsay shouted at Wynn, "Terrence! What are you doing!" Wynn looked at her calmly  
  
and said, "It's for his protection." Lindsay was getting angry, "Don't give me that bullshit  
  
Terrence, you went over my head." Wynn changed his expression and sternly spoke from  
  
pursed lips, "I'm not going to argue with you. I am your senior and you are told what you  
  
need to know and nothing more. I am taking over this investigation Dr. Wallace."  
  
Lindsay was shocked, "You cant do that! I' I've been heading this operation for over-"  
  
Wynn cut her off, "The council has made their decision. I am intervening. You've  
  
already caused the death of one person supposedly under our protection! I have to make  
  
sure John Tate is properly looked after now." Wynn turned around and got on the  
  
helicopter leaving Lindsay contemplating what the hell just happened.  
  
The helicopter took off just as Thom ran up to Lindsay, "Where are they going,  
  
and where's John?" Lindsay pointed upwards and Thom watched as the helicopter left.  
  
He turned to Lindsay with surprise, "Where are they taking him!" Lindsay stuck her  
  
hands in her pockets, Smith's Grove." Thom ran off back to the front yard. Lindsay  
  
walked out front behind him and saw all the activity. She saw Myers in the ambulance,  
  
Stephen was being loaded into the ambulance at the same time as Myers. Sheriff Grayson  
  
was speaking with the ambulance drivers in charge of Myers' journey, "I want you guys  
  
on top alert. If anything happens..." The drivers complied.  
  
Lindsay walked up to the ambulance where Stephen was being cared to, "I'm a  
  
doctor, I'm coming along." She flashed them her badge and they let her step on. Kara ran  
  
to Lindsay, "Watch him for me. Please don't let anything more happen to him." Lindsay  
  
nodded, "I will. He'll be safe with me. I promise. They got in and the drivers closed the  
  
back doors. The other ambulance also loaded up and pulled onto the road, its' sirens on  
  
full blast. The two ambulances drove down the street as neighbors now awake, watched  
  
from the sidewalks.  
  
Thom watched his son leave in the ambulance and then found the Sheriff, "Mark,  
  
we need to get to Smith's Grove. I know that's where Wynn is going with John." Mark  
  
nodded, "Ok, but first we have to clear the crime scene in your house." The two walked  
  
into the house where bodies where Starks' body was being zipped up in a black body bag.  
  
A third ambulance had arrived on the scene for the sole purpose of taking the bodies to  
  
the Morgue. Mark walked up the stairs and turned back to Thom, "You don't have to be  
  
here. We can get a statement form you later." Thom shook his head, "No, I need to know  
  
what happened." Mark patted Thom's shoulder. They reached the top of the stairs and  
  
Thom whispered to himself, "Jesus Christ..."  
  
Two cops were standing at the end of the hall looking up at Diane Hopkins' body.  
  
They were contemplating how to get her down from the ceiling. Thom closed his eyes  
  
and turned away, "Diane..." Mark led Thom past the body and looked at the other two  
  
cops, "Get a ladder up here." Thom regained his composure and quietly said, "I uh, I  
  
better tell Kara before someone else does." He went back downstairs leaving Mark to  
  
look back up at the ceiling were Diane was pinned, "Son of a bitch..."  
  
Thom reached the ground floor and saw Kara outside. He walked out the front  
  
door and found her with Dan. He looked at Dan and noticed his foot, "Are you ok?" Dan  
  
shrugged, "Been better..." Kara wrapped an arm around her first son and looked at  
  
Thom, "We needs some antiseptic for his cut." Dan looked at her, "Really, I'm ok. It's  
  
not that bad." Jesse had been giving her statement to a cop and walked over to Dan and  
  
his parents, "Dan...I'm so sorry." He hugged her tightly as they worried about Stephen.  
  
Thom looked at the three of them and grew serious, "We've lost them both. Stephen is  
  
headed to the hospital and John is with Wynn." Dan looked surprised, "What! He went  
  
with him?" Thom ran his hands through his hair, "Not exactly, they sort of took him. I  
  
think they're going to Smith's Grove so Mark and I are going to drive out there." Kara  
  
jumped in, "I'm going with you." Thom shook his head, "No, you cant. You have to stay  
  
here with Dan and Jess. You'll be safe here, Myers is gone and the place is loaded with  
  
cops."  
  
Dan broke from his mother's embrace, "Myers is in the ambulance!  
  
Stephen's alone with him!" Kara calmed him down, "He's not alone. Lindsay went with  
  
him and they're in a separate ambulance than Michael." She turned her worried gaze to  
  
her husband, "It's not going to be enough though is it..." Thom looked around. The  
  
ambulances had left, the helicopter had taken off, they were on their own. "I don't  
  
know." Was all Thom could say as he looked at the cops surrounding his home.  
  
John was thrown into a seat by one of the three men in black suits. He shouted at  
  
them, "What the hell do you think you're doing! They need me down there." A voice  
  
came from nearby, "They'll be fine Mr. Tate. It's you who needs protection, we're here  
  
to help you." John turned and saw an older man with white hair sitting in a nearby seat.  
  
He held an evidence bag in his hands. Terrence looked at John, the younger man had no  
  
idea how important he was to the cult's plans. Wynn smiled as he opened the evidence  
  
bag in his lap. He pulled out a large blood stained butcher's knife, "They wont be needing  
  
this anymore." John gasped, "You stole it." Wynn looked down at the knife and ran his  
  
thumb across the blade, "I'm just taking back what belongs to us."  
  
John glared at the man, "You. It's you, you've been responsible for all of my  
  
uncle's crimes." Wynn nodded his eyes full of madness and pride, "Michael is my  
  
greatest achievement. He is the perfect killing machine...ruthless, relentless," "evil."  
  
John bluntly stated. Wynn blinked, "Maybe, yes but it's in his blood, just like it's in  
  
yours." John tried to stand up but the helicopter made a sharp turn and he fell back into  
  
his seat. The three suits were standing in the background, two behind Wynn and one  
  
behind John. The young man spat at Wynn's feet, "You can't control him forever. Sooner  
  
or later he'll turn on you." Wynn frowned, "Yes, that was an inevitable result of the  
  
blood rituals, Myers will only last so long, but his spirit, evil's spirit will last forever. It's  
  
tried before. A simple touch is really all it needs. Evil runs through your family John.  
  
Your sister Jamie stabbing her step-mother, your own mother beheading an innocent  
  
paramedic. They've all spilled innocent blood, just like Myers. We just need to find a  
  
new vessel to continue the blood rituals." John's eyes widened, "Stephen..."  
  
Stephen was in critical condition. The ambulance sped down the wet road as rain  
  
poured over it. Lindsay was on the scene with the medics as they tried to revive the  
  
unconscious boy. "His heart stopped!" Lindsay yelled as the medics continued CPR.  
  
They had opened his windpipe and inserted a tube to pump oxygen into his lungs. He was  
  
on a heart monitor, which had just gone dead. Lindsay yelled for the boy to wake up,  
  
"Don't do this to me Stephen, don't you dare die!" The boy had gone deathly pale and his  
  
face was rapidly turning bluer. The heart monitor was a steady line, Stephen's heart had  
  
stopped beating.  
  
~TBC 


	15. Like Father Like Son

Chapter 15: Like Father Like Son  
  
At the very same time that Stephen's heart stopped, Michael Myers' heart had stopped. The second ambulance drove. Medics were also caring for Michael. The head medic shouted to her partners, "Get the pads!" A second medic came over with the shock pads as they prepped Michael. His heart monitor also was blank. The third medic was apprehensive as he tried finding a suitable vein to inject some medicine into. He was shaking as he turned Michael's wrist around. He saw a strange black triangle tattooed on the Shape's wrist. The head medic yelled at him, "Give him the shot!" The medic with the needle placed a shaky hand on the Shape's wrist and inserted the needle. He pushed the medicine into Michael's body and the Shape began to convulse. The medic with the shock pads turned the electronic defibrillator on. The head medic picked up a scalpel and prepared to cut open Michaels blue jumpsuit to give them access to his chest.  
  
Stephen convulsed on the table as the medics shocked his open chest with a defibrillator. Lindsay herself took over, "Clear!" They stood back and she shocked the pale boy. He convulsed and the heart monitor continued to go blank. One medic tried to get her to call it but she pushed him away, "Raise it to 150! Clear!" Lindsay shocked him again, "Damn it Stephen! Clear!" she shocked him again and his heart monitor began to pulse slightly. A medic called out, "We got a heart beat!" Lindsay wiped off the sweat which had accumulated on her brow, "He's stabilizing…thank god." Stephen took a deep breath suddenly which started Lindsay. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at her. She brushed his bangs aside and smiled.  
  
Michael was still convulsing as the head medic prepared to cut his overalls open. Suddenly he stopped and fell limp. The medics stood in silence worriedly looking at each other. The medic with the now empty needle looked down at Myers' hand and stopped breathing. He turned sickly pale and looked to the other two paramedics, "His hand is moving…" Michael's hand was slowly forming a fist. His heart monitor changed from a steady line to a sharp beep. His heart had restarted. The three paramedics jumped at the sound of the beep. All of a sudden Michael sat up on the table, he caught all of the medics by surprise as he quickly grabbed the empty needle from the first medic's hand. He fiercely jammed the needle into the medic's neck and pushed down. Air was injected into the man's brain and he instantly dropped to the ambulance ground. The head medic screamed and the driver looked in his rear-view mirror and gasped.  
  
Lindsay was patting Stephen's head, "It's ok baby, you're going to be fine." The driver shouted, "What the hell are they doing!?" Lindsay looked forward along with the other three paramedics. They watched in confusion through the windshield as the ambulance in front of them started to swerve.  
  
Back in the other ambulance…   
  
Michael grabbed the scalpel out of the head medic's hand and swiftly slashed her throat with it. She fell back over some medical equipment. The medic near the defibrillator stood frozen in fear and Michael quickly seized the opportunity. The shape yanked the shock pads from the medic's hands and turned them on him, he pushed the pads onto the man's chest and an electric shock sent the medic flying up to the drivers seat.   
  
Michael got up off the stretcher and lumbered forward where he grabbed the medic by the shoulders and yanked him back. The driver was screaming and trying to regain control of the ambulance. Michael grabbed the driver from behind and broke his neck. He pulled the driver right out of his seat and tossed him into the back of the bus.   
  
Lindsay stood up and looked at the paramedics. They were all watching through windshield along with the driver. The ambulance in front of them was swerving madly on the road. The two vehicles were about half a mile from the Old Mill's Creek Bridge. The front ambulance swerved into oncoming traffic before quickly turning and going back into the right lane. Lindsay looked down at Stephen and said, "It's ok, everything's ok." Stephen's eyes told her that he knew she was lying.   
  
Lindsay looked up suddenly when she heard the paramedics screaming. The driver shouted, "Oh my god!" Lindsay watched from the back of the ambulance. The back doors of the front ambulance broke open and a body came hurtling out of it. It flew at the second ambulance, straight towards the windshield. Lindsay and the paramedics screamed as the body hit the windshield and flew over the roof of the vehicle.   
  
Lindsay ran to the back of the ambulance and looked outside where she saw the body of one of the other medics hit the road. She looked back forward and gasped as the front ambulance swerved to the right and stopped. The driver shouted to Lindsay and the medics, "Hold on!" He drove past the other ambulance and quickly pulled over to the side of the road.   
  
The driver put the ambulance in park and jumped out of the vehicle. Lindsay shouted to him and ran over to the back of the ambulance. She pounded on the window and yelled to him, "No! It's not safe!" The three medics came up behind her and watched through the back door window while Stephen lay on the stretched behind them.   
  
The ambulance driver walked over to the second ambulance slowly, he called for anyone, "Is everybody ok? Are you guys alright?" The vehicle sat idling on the road, blue smoke slowly rising from the exhaust pipe. It was dark in the vehicle. The driver walked around back and saw the two doors were slightly open. He opened one and looked in. It was black in the bus, a few sparks flew around from the blown defibrillator. The driver covered his mouth, "Jesus…" he quietly said to himself. The dim light from the sparks aloud him to see the smeared blood, the bodies…the white mask coming towards him.   
  
Lindsay and the three medics with her watched intently but lost sight of the driver when he went behind the ambulance. Suddenly the dark vehicle revved up. The headlights came on brightly and Lindsay started backing up. She looked at Stephen and said, "Go…go,go,go!" She looked at the medics, one; a thin man with blonde hair; ran to the front drivers seat and shifted gears. Lindsay turned around and saw the ambulance behind them started moving forward. It came rushing at them and harshly rammed into the vehicle's backside. Lindsay and the other two medics fell forward and Lindsay got up quickly and took Stephen by the hand. She yelled up to the blonde medic, "Let's go!!" He hit the gas and the ambulance took off.   
  
Lindsay raced back to Stephen's side and wrapped an arm over him to hold him steady, "It's gonna get bumpy kid." The blonde paramedic drove at a steady speed and the other two medics stood in the back watching out the back door windows. One looked at Lindsay, "They're coming faster!" Lindsay yelled to the blonde medic, "Faster!" The medic nodded and pushed down on the accelerator.  
  
Lindsay could hear the other ambulance roaring behind them. She left Stephen's side and peered through the back windows from behind the two medics. Her eyes widened when she saw the ambulance behind them racing closer and closer. Suddenly it rammed into the ambulance again and they all shook. The vehicle swerved and the blonde medic had to twist the steering wheel as far as it would go to keep them from going off the road.   
  
Lindsay felt her pulse quicken and a shot of adrenaline coarse through her. Her legs tightened and she braced herself against Stephen's stretcher. The ambulance behind them came forward again and rammed into the back of them, much harder this time. Lindsay grabbed Stephen and held him as the back end of the vehicle was actually lifted off the ground from the force of the impact. One of the medics shouted, "We're gonna go off the road!" The second medic yelled, "He's coming again, brace yourselves!"   
  
The dark ambulance came racing towards them again just as they reached Old Mill Creek Bridge. It's headlights shone brightly and blinded the blonde medic's view from behind. He shouted, "I can't see anything!" Lindsay looked at Stephen who was worriedly glancing all over the place. She gently touched the tube in his neck, "Don't try to talk, I have to take this out." He closed his eyes as she quickly pulled the needle from his throat. He gasped and gagged. Lindsay took some gauze from nearby and wrapped it around the boys neck. "It's ok, we have to get this stuff off of you." She pulled the heart monitor stickers off from his chest. She smiled and said, "Sorry we had to cut your costume open." She looked for something to close his outfit with and found some medical tape, "Here." She said as she taped up his costume, "Good as new?"   
  
The blonde driver yelled, "We're gonna crash!" Lindsay picked Stephen up and set him down in a corner behind the front passenger seat. She kneeled down and wrapped her arms around him to protect him from the crash. The two medics in back braced themselves as the dark ambulance crashed into the side of them.  
  
The ambulance veered off to the right. The blonde medic screamed as the right side of the vehicle screeched along the side of the bridge. Metal on metal crashing, sparks flew from the ambulance as it slid along side of the metal bridge railing. The dark ambulance behind them rammed into them one final time. It was the hardest impact yet. Both vehicles went careening up against the right bridge railing. The medics screamed as their vehicle went hurling over the edge. Lindsay held Stephen close, praying they survived the crash.   
  
The ambulance went over the railing and flew into a nearby tree. The six passengers screamed as leaves and branches broke against the ambulance. They were all hurled into the air as the bus flipped over. Lindsay held Stephen close as they went flying into the ceiling. The bus flew over onto it's roof and stopped as it nestled into the thick tree branches.  
  
The second ambulance flew over the side of the bridge as well, but it was a bit further behind the first vehicle. It fell front first into the cold lake beneath. It was just ten feet away from the shore line. The bus hit the water and fell onto it's back where it slowly started to sink.   
  
Lindsay was lying on the ceiling which had now become the ground. She slowly regained consciousness and opened her eyes. She saw the inside of the ambulance from the opposite side. She her right side aching from the violent collision. Lindsay looked down and saw Stephen in her arms, he was also unconscious. "Stephen?" She whispered. She gently shook him and her moaned groggily. His eyes slowly opened and he looked up at her. Lindsay got up onto her knees and used her hands to feel around the ground. After she got her bearings straight she looked at the boy, "Are you hurt?" He looked himself up and down and shook his head, "I don't think so," His voice was raspy and quiet from his throat."   
  
Stephen started to sit up and the ambulance creaked. Lindsay held her hands up and said, "Don't make any sudden movements, I don't think it's stable." Stephen crawled on his hands and knees and started looking for the other medics. Lindsay looked downwards and found the drivers seat. Lindsay saw the blonde paramedic lying against the dashboard, blood flowing from his forehead. She looked behind her and saw the stretcher on it's side, a paramedic lying unconscious underneath it. She crawled over to the man and shook him. He groaned and woke up, "What the hell happened…" She helped him out from under the stretcher and said, "We're stuck." The freckled man looked past her and saw the third paramedic sitting next to the back doors, her head had a deep cut in it. He got up and tried walking forward but the van creaked louder. They could feel the vehicle swaying gently in the branches, back and forth.   
  
Lindsay slowly got up and Helped Stephen to his feet. The three of them slowly stood and tried to balance the vehicle. The freckled paramedic slowly walked over to the medic on the floor and helped her to her feet. Her eyes open and she reached a shaky hand to her forehead, "I think I have a concussion." Lindsay half walked, half crawled over to the blonde paramedic and felt his neck for any signs of a pulse. She turned to the others, "He's dead." Stephen looked around and saw the back doors, he went over to them and was about to open them when the freckled medic ran to him and said, "Wait! Take a look out that window, see below? The doors are helping those branches brace the weight of the van. If we open it, we might tip over." Stephen backed away and looked to Lindsay, "How are we going to get out of here?"  
  
Meanwhile  
  
Thom sat in the passenger seat of Sheriff Grayson's car as they drove to Smith's Grove. Mark was on his radio, "I want all units at the Doyle house immediately. I want Kara, Dan and Jesse put under twenty four hour watch. Somebody get a chopper out to Haddonfield Memorial hospital to meet Stephen Doyle and Myers."  
  
Thom listened to this and thought about Stephen, he looked pretty bad after that fall. If anything happens to him, he'd make Myers pay…and Wynn. "How much longer till we get there Mark?" Thom asked, Mark looked out his window and saw a road sign, "Should be there in about twenty minutes." Thom looked at his watch, it was quarter to nine already, "Where'd the time go." Mark smiled to himself, "Yeah, tell me about it. Been one hell of a night." Thom looked out into the blackness of the woods by the road, "Night's not over yet."  
  
John stared at Wynn as he realized what the madman planned, "You're going to use Stephen, pass the evil on to him…" Dr. Wynn burst out laughing and John got angry, "You think this is funny!? Playing with people's lives, you sick fuck." Wynn regained his composure and lightly replied, "No, no dear boy. We're not going to pass Michael's legacy on to his son…we're going to make him Michael's final sacrifice. After you of course." John went pale, "Stephen is…Michael's son?" Wynn got a gleam in his eye, "Oh yes…you didn't know that did you Mr. Tate. My, my, what dirty secrets your family does have. What other skeletons are hiding in the Myers' closet?"   
  
John looked down at his feet and quietly spoke, "What else do you know about my family." 'family' John choked at the word, his family was dead, his family was sick. Terrence answered, "Your family has been plagued by evil since the early sixties. Evil never dies young man, it only rests and grows stronger. How many people had Michael slaughtered over the years? I wonder if he's met his quota this year." John stood up and surprised Wynn, "You son of a bitch. You've destroyed an entire family lineage because of this sick shit. I'm not gonna let you kill me or Stephen, do you hear me you mother fu-" One of the men in suites came up behind John and knocked him out. Wynn smiled as he continued to run his finger along the knife in his lap, "Soon, the harvest will begin and the evil will be passed on."  
  
Dan sat down on the couch with Jesse. They watched as a few more police cars arrived on the scene. Cops were all over the house, all over the block. They were talking to neighbors, dusting for prints around the house. They had sealed off the attic with yellow tape and even confiscated the cars for evidence. Jesse was beyond tired, she was beyond shock. She was at her limit, all she could do was hold her boyfriend's hand and give him strength.   
  
Kara walked up to the kids with an officer, "Jesse, this officer is going to take you home. Your parents are worried sick, you need to be with them." Jesse nodded without looking up. She stood up and walked off with the police man, she turned back and gave a vacant look to Dan. Dan stood up and collapsed back onto the couch. Kara ran over to his side and started patting his head, "Baby, your exhausted, just try and sit still. You've been through so much tonight." Dan felt strange, he felt a spark of anger ignite in his heart. A darkness was growing inside of him and he was frightened of it.  
  
Old Mill Creek Bridge 8:50 pm  
  
"We're going to have to climb down." Lindsay spoke to the two medics and Stephen as she looked out the back windows. She saw the other ambulance in the lake, not too far from the lake's shore. She peered out and noticed movement coming from the back end facing them. "Hey, over here." She signaled, and the two paramedics came over behind her and looked out, "It's George!" George, the driver was trying to claw his way out from the back of the bus. The female medic tried to open the door but the freckled medic held her back, "No, wait." Lindsay's eyes widened, "Oh shit…" they watched while Stephen tried to get a look, "What's going on?" Lindsay spoke, "Stephen get back, don't look." Stephen frowned and took a step back, he felt his head getting light and realized his head was still badly injured. Lindsay and the medics watched with concern as George finally pulled himself half way out of the ambulance. The vehicle was sinking into the lake and George was trying to climb out of the increasingly steep exit. Suddenly he was pulled back. He screamed as a shadow of a man came behind him. Lindsay realized who it was, "We cant save him…" The two medics watched in horror as George was pulled back by the shape. Michael started slashing George up with a scalpel and the driver cried in pain. His head had several deep cuts on it and finally he fell back into the bus just as it sank beneath the surface.   
  
Lindsay looked back, "We need to find something to use as a rope." The freckled medic spoke up, "We have a winch and cable on the front of the ambulance. We use it when we need to pull a person or vehicle from a ditch or wreck. The cable should be strong enough to hold us but it's outside under the base of the hood." Lindsay thought a moment and said, "Can you get to it?" The freckled medic looked at the passenger door and nodded, "I think so, I can climb out there and back." Lindsay nodded, "Ok, do it but be careful, one wrong move and we all go down." The medic complied, "Thank god for all those EMT training scenarios." The female medic called to him, "Be careful." He smiled, "I got it."   
  
The male paramedic slowly opened the passenger door just enough to get out. He looked down and took a breath, they were high. He climbed between several branches and landed on solid footing. He balanced himself on a branch and slowly started to climb around to the front of the ambulance. He saw the winch on top of the flipped over vehicle. He unhooked the cable and started to pull. Once he had enough slack, he re-hooked it and started back. He slipped on a branch and grabbed the ambulance door for balance but that only made the whole vehicle tilt and shake a bit. Lindsay and the female medic felt the ambulance tilt and readjusted their positions. Stephen lost his balance and started to fall but Lindsay caught him, "Easy kiddo, can we get some ice for his head?" The female medic nodded and went to a tipped over cooler where she got two bags of ice out, "He and I could both use it." She sat down on the ceiling of the van and put the ice on the back of her head. Lindsay took the other bag and put it on Stephen's head.   
  
The other paramedic finally returned from outside with a long cable, "Got it, ready?" Lindsay helped Stephen and the medic up, "Yes." She turned to Stephen, "You'll go down first ok?" Stephen looked at her afraid, "I've already had to climb across a high wire tonight. Don't make me do it again." Lindsay looked at the male medic who was tying the cable into a lasso, "It's the only way. You don't have to climb, I'll tie it around you and we'll lower you down ok?" Stephen nodded but was still afraid. The freckled medic helped Lindsay wrap the cable around Stephen's waist. He adjusted the cable and tightened it until Stephen was secure, "Ok kid, you're going to have to climb out and we'll lower you." Stephen gave Lindsay his hand and she squeezed it for support. Then he began his journey down the tree.  
  
Stephen climbed out of the ambulance and looked up, he saw the van's front wheels facing the sky. He found a steady branch and climbed on it. Stephen looked around and saw the ambulance was wedged between several large branches, they were all that kept the vehicle steady. Stephen looked down and felt dizzy, it was tedious déjà vu feeling. He lost his balance and fell of the branch but the cable kept him safe, he was hanging from the tree now. Lindsay looked out, "It's ok Stephen, we'll lower you now." She looked at the medic, "Do it slowly." He nodded and slowly started releasing more slack. Stephen started moving. He felt the leaves brushing past him as he was lowered. Eventually he reached the bottom and untied the cable around him, "Ok! I'm down."   
  
Lindsay helped the medic pull the cable back up, the freckled medic turned to her, "Your turn." Lindsay looked at the female paramedic and saw the blood in her hair, "She's injured, shouldn't she go next?" The medics both nodded, "We need to get you out of here safely first now go." Lindsay sighed and took the cable from him. She wrapped it around her waist and the medic helped her tie it, "Nice and easy." She looked at the two of them and at the dead medic hanging limp in his seat above them, "I'm sorry about your partner." The two medics frowned, "Don't worry about it, just get down safely." She nodded and climbed out of the ambulance.   
  
Lindsay looked down and saw Stephen on the ground below looking up at her. He waved his arms at her and shouted, "It's ok!" Lindsay smiled at the boy's attempt to encourage her. She slowly climbed off of the branch she was on and let the medics lower her. When she reached the bottom she untied the cable from her waist and tugged on it as a signal for the paramedic to pull it back up. She ran over to Stephen and brushed a hand in his hair, the blood in his hair had dried and the deep cut seemed to have stopped bleeding. Stephen winced and said, "It still hurts, I want mommy. When can I go home?" Lindsay forced a smile and said, "Soon." She looked up and saw the female medic coming out from the ambulance. She smiled and turned to look back at Stephen. She saw movement behind him and her smile quickly turned into a grim frown.  
  
Michael Myers' head had just emerged from the lake's surface. He was walking towards them, emerging from the lake. Lindsay looked up at the medic hanging from the cable, "Hurry! He's coming! Get her down from there!" The female medic looked out onto the lake and saw Michael slowly rising from it, "Oh god, hurry please." She started to struggle to get down and ended up slipping and falling off the branch. It happened suddenly and the freckled medic didn't expect it. The cable slipped from his hand and the medic outside to fall further. She screamed as she fell and the male medic jumped forward to grab the cable. It burned his hands but he held tight and she stopped falling. She was hanging about eight feet from the ground.   
  
Lindsay ran to her and jumped up to try and grab her feet, "Just jump!" The woman looked past them and screamed again. Lindsay turned around and saw Michael now out of the lake walking towards them. Stephen started to tremble, "Not again…make him go away…" He backed up and Lindsay pulled him behind her, "Stay with me." They started backing up and Lindsay yelled up to the female medic, "Hurry up! Untie the cable and jump!" The woman struggled to untie the cable but her fingers were trembling too much. She whined in frustration and started to cry. She looked forward and saw the Shape coming towards them. He walked slowly and steadily. Lindsay took Stephen by the hand and ran to a nearby tree. She looked to Stephen and said, "Stay here and don't make a sound." She ran back to the female medic and started jumping. She tried to reach the woman's feet so she could pull her down. The freckled medic above looked down and saw Michael coming, he shouted, "No!" and jumped out of the vehicle. He went hurtling downwards and landed on Myers just as he was about to grab Lindsay.  
  
Lindsay and the female medic screamed as the freckled medic stood up groggily. Michael rose quickly and picked the man up by the throat. He threw the young medic head first into a nearby tree. Michael looked at Lindsay and saw Stephen peeking out from a tree behind her. He started walking towards him but Lindsay jumped in his way and started running. She ran back to Stephen and wrapped her arms around him. Michael looked up at the squirming medic and reached down for a large branch on the ground.  
  
He started swinging it at the woman who screamed in fear. He whacked her leg hard and it went limp, the woman howling in pain as her leg was broken. Michael whacked her again like a boy trying to break a piñata. He whacked her over and over again until she was almost completely motionless. Then he delivered the fatal blow which sent her neck cracking back, killing her.   
  
Lindsay put her hands around Stephen's eyes, "Don't look." She grabbed him by the arm and started running. She didn't know where they'd go but she knew they had to get away from the madman. Michael turned and saw them running away. He started to walk after them when the freckled medic ran and plowed into his side, sending him crashing into the tree. Michael stood up and the medic backed up until he was right underneath the ambulance. Michael looked up and saw the body hanging above him. He grabbed the woman's legs and yanked them down violently. The woman was pulled down harshly and the fierce motion sent the ambulance tilting forward. The branches holding the vehicle steady were bent just enough to send it over. The vehicle came crashing down on to the freckled medic, crushing him under it. Michael tilted his head and watched as the mans arm sat on the ground beneath the vehicle, blood slowly oozing out.  
  
Lindsay was running as fast as she could, yanking the boy with her. Stephen was running out of breath and couldn't go on any further, "I…can't…" He fell over and lost her arm. She stopped and turned back, the boy was exhausted how could she expect him to run like this. Lindsay went back and scooped the pale boy up in her arms. She stood up and started to go as fast as she could while carrying the boy. Stephen was unconscious now and Lindsay felt the weight of him slowing her down. She looked behind her. No sign of Myers, only an endless array of trees and fog. She went forward and reached an empty country road. She fell to her knees and was catching her breath when a large white light made her cover her eyes. She looked up and saw a large black helicopter, its' propellers blowing wind and water around the misty sky. It lowered itself downwards and Lindsay slowly got up, "Wynn…no." She turned around and started running the other way but two men in black suites came out of the helicopter and ran after her. They caught her and grabbed the boy. She shouted at them but one of them shocked her with a tazer. She fell unconscious in the man's arms and they dragged her and the boy back to the helicopter. Once inside, the doors closed and the helicopter took off into the night.  
  
~TBC 


	16. Rituals

Hey all. It's been awhile hasn't it! Well here we are, we've begun the final act of the story. Halloween night 2004 is nearing an end. I've planned out the conclusion and hope to wrap up this story at about twenty chapters. Don't worry though, I've already started writing the sequel! So gimme some feed back and lemme know what your opinions are of this fanfic.  
  
~Lantern_Lizzard  
  
Chapter 16: Rituals  
  
As Thom and Mark drove, Thom thought about the night's events. "Why now? I   
  
mean, why this year?" Thom spoke to himself. Mark glanced at the man as he   
  
drove, "Is there ever a reason for his madness?" Mark turned on the radio.   
  
'Authorities are still locating Myers. To repeat, all residents are asked to   
  
stay in their homes for the remainder of the night. Authorities are still on   
  
scene at various locations around town. Please be advised, Michael Myers is   
  
presumed armed and extremely dangerous. Repeat, Myers is presumed armed and   
  
extremely dangerous.' Mark flipped the radio off, "Well no kidding..."   
  
Thom racked his brain trying to come up with a reason as to why this   
  
madness was still happening, "Why? Why now?" He thought, there had to be   
  
something, something significant. All the other years Michael had had a reason.   
  
1978 was the year Laurie turned 17, the same age as Judith when she was   
  
murdered. 1988 was the year Myers discovered his niece and the following year   
  
was the year Wynn arrived in town. 95' was the Stephen had been born and 98' was   
  
the year John turned 17. What had happened in 2002? Thom thought, "Sara." Mark   
  
looked at Thom, "What about her?" Thom scratched his head, "She was related to   
  
Myers, if he didn't learn that until 2002, that would explain why he waited so   
  
long to come home again." Mark nodded, "Ok, suppose your right, that's why he   
  
came back two years ago. But why is he here now?" Thom smashed his fists down on   
  
the dashboard in frustration, "Damn it!"   
  
Something had to have happened this year. Something to do with Stephen or   
  
Sara or John because they were the last of Myers' kin. Mark saw a sign up ahead,   
  
"next exit Thom. Were almost there." Thom bit his lip as thoughts raced through   
  
his brain, "Damn, Loomis, where are you when we need you..." Thom thought about   
  
Dr. Loomis, about when he died. He had discovered something, what was it? Thom   
  
knew he was so close to learning what Loomis had learned.   
  
Mark tried to break the tension, "How's Kara and Dan handling all this?   
  
They going to be ok?" Thom nodded, "I think so. Kara has been through worse and   
  
Dan can cope with...wait." Thom's eyes widened as a sudden revelation appeared,   
  
"That's it. That's it!" Thom looked at Mark with madness in his eyes, "We have   
  
to get to Smith's Grove! How far?"   
  
Kara didn't know exactly what to do as she sat on her bed. She could here   
  
all the commotion outside her door as police officers and reporters walked   
  
around. She put her hands up over her ears and tried to block out the reality of   
  
what was happening. Her house was a crime scene. Her friend was dead and her   
  
child was dying. And what about Dan? How would this affect him. Kara thought   
  
about how long she had spent with shrinks after her last Halloween nightmare.   
  
She and Dan had both spent numerous hours on a couch talking to a psychiatrist.   
  
At one time Kara had wanted to be a psychiatrist, but not anymore. Not after all   
  
the hours she had spent with them, she didn't want anything to do with studying   
  
the mind anymore. She had gotten her answer one foggy Halloween night almost   
  
nine years ago. All men have darkness inside themselves and she had seen what   
  
that darkness is capable of.   
  
Kara felt her eyes tear up and quickly brushed them with her fingers. She   
  
looked over her shoulder and saw a family picture sitting on the bed stand. She   
  
reached over to it and pulled it to her. She looked down at the image of her   
  
happy family and felt the tears come back. She looked at Stephen, so young and   
  
new. Stephen had to make it. He just had to. She thought about how he had looked   
  
when they loaded him on that ambulance. She felt her whole world shatter when   
  
she saw the pale form of her young son, the blood in his hair, the bluish shade   
  
his face had turned. Kara closed her eyes and tried to put the images out of her   
  
head but they continued to flood her. She remembered seeing Diane's body pinned   
  
to the ceiling. She saw the two policemen as their bodies were loaded up in body   
  
bags. She saw the ghastly sight in her kitchen as policemen cleaned up the red   
  
messes that used to be her cats.   
  
Kara set the picture back on the stand and got up off her bed. She walked   
  
over to her bedroom door and fell over. She slumped down into a pile on the   
  
ground and started crying. She coughed and gagged as she cried. She put a hand   
  
over her mouth to muffle her sobs. She put her other hand on the door for   
  
support as she slowly calmed down. She took a few deep breaths and climbed back   
  
to her feet. Her eyes were swollen and her face was pink. She brushed a few   
  
loose strands of hair out of her face and opened the door.   
  
Dan was standing right in the doorway, Kara jumped with surprise, "You   
  
scared me! What are you doing?" Dan looked at her blankly, his eyes strangely   
  
dark. Kara shook his shoulder, "Are you ok?" He blinked and his eyes returned to   
  
their bright shade of blue, "I uh, thought I heard you crying." Kara smiled and   
  
embraced her son in a tight hug, "I'm fine." Dan pulled back and saw her red   
  
eyes. He put a finger delicately to her check and felt her tear soaked skin.   
  
Kara felt a shiver go through her and backed up. That was weird, she thought.   
  
She brushed it off and smiled, "I will be."   
  
Kara tilted her head and looked at her son. His hair was messed up and   
  
his eyes were tired. She noticed the makeup on his face and how smeared it was.   
  
The white on his face was nearly gone and the black lipstick had been washed   
  
off. The only noticeable feature on him were the black lines going down his eyes   
  
but even they had been smeared from tears and sweat. Only the dark smears under   
  
and around his eyes showed past his pale complexion. She became uneasy suddenly   
  
as she stared at her son. That pale face, those dark eyes. For an instant, she   
  
thought he looked like Myers. Kara turned away from her son. Dan looked   
  
confused, "What's wrong mom?" Kara didn't turn back but quietly said, "I'm just   
  
tired. Go back downstairs Danny and I'll be down in awhile." Dan turned and   
  
walked away, "Don't call me Danny..." Kara closed the door and took a breath.   
  
That had been strange.   
  
Lindsay slowly woke up, her head aching something awful. She opened her   
  
eyes and looked around. Her sight was blurred and all she could make out was the   
  
candlelight dancing around her. She slowly felt her senses coming back to her,   
  
she started to move when she felt something pull her back. The sudden jerking   
  
had sent her falling back to the ground. Lindsay blinked her eyes a few times   
  
and got her bearings straight. She looked down at her hands and feet and   
  
realized they were tied down with rope.   
  
Lindsay looked around again and realized she was in a cell. She sat up and   
  
leaned against the cold wall behind her. Her expression changed to that of a   
  
frightened little girl. She looked up at the stone walls covered in papers and   
  
saw the metal door on the other side of the room. She started to stand up but   
  
quickly fell over. Her legs had been tied together. "Shit." She cursed quietly   
  
to herself as she shuffled helplessly on the ground. She looked down at her   
  
bound wrists and brought them up to her face. She struggled to undo the ropes   
  
but it was no use.   
  
She peered at the walls around her, at the paper on the walls. They were   
  
newspaper clippings. She squinted her eyes as she tried to read them in the dim   
  
light. Only a single light bulb hung from the ceiling. It was only now that   
  
Lindsay's senses were finally back did she hear the sound filling the room.   
  
Lindsay listened to the noise, not noise but, "Music?" Lindsay held her breath   
  
and listened to the quiet music playing in the room.   
  
'Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream. Make him the cutest that I've ever seen. Give him two lips, like roses and clover. And tell him that his lonesome nights are over...'   
  
Lindsay felt the hairs on her neck perk up as she listened to the grainy   
  
song play. She looked up and behind her and saw the newspaper clippings above   
  
her. The entire room was littered with articles and photographs. Lindsay sat up   
  
once more and leaned on her bound arms. She started reading the newspaper   
  
clippings aloud, "Killer and psychiatrist feared dead in hospital   
  
explosion...Laurie Strode sole survivor of Halloween night massacre..." Lindsay   
  
listened to the music play as she continued to read, "Myers disappears during   
  
police station massacre, Jamie Lloyd missing...Power outage terrorizes   
  
Haddonfield residents..." Lindsay felt her hands shaking as she read the endless   
  
headlines, "Laurie strode arrested for murder...Jamie Lloyd found dead after 6   
  
year absence...Two survivors of Myers House Web-cam Bloodbath...Myers escapes   
  
morgue...still on the loose."   
  
Lindsay turned away from the clippings and saw another wall with what   
  
looked like some sort of shrine. There was a family tree drawn out on a large   
  
canvas in the center of the wall. At the top 'Peter Myers' and 'Audrey Myers'   
  
were written out. Below there names was a bloody handprint. A long line of blood   
  
was drawn in a line going down to the ground. Written on the wall near the blood   
  
were the names 'Judith Margaret Myers', 'Laurie Strode', and 'Jamie Lloyd'. Each   
  
name had blood smeared over it. Lindsay could smell the blood on the wall and it   
  
made her gag.  
  
'Mr. Sandman I'm so alone, don't have nobody to call my own. Please turn on your magic beam, Mr. Sandman bring me a dream'  
  
Lindsay felt her stomach churn as the music played. The stench of blood   
  
made her sick and she looked down at the ground. She saw a few bloodstains on   
  
the ground and came to a terrifying resolution, "My god...I'm in his room..."   
  
Lindsay looked back up to the macabre family tree and saw three more names at   
  
the bottom of the line. 'Sara Moyer' was covered in fresh blood, the name had   
  
been recently covered. Lindsay felt her heartbeat quicken as she read the last   
  
two names. 'John Tate' and 'Stephen Myers' were written out.   
  
Lindsay squinted her eyes in confusion, "Stephen Myers? But that would   
  
mean that...oh my god." Lindsay felt herself shake as she realized the truth.   
  
She felt tears fell up in her eyes as she spoke quietly to herself, "You're is   
  
son...god Stephen, you're his son!"  
  
Kara opened the door to her room and stepped out into the hallway. Her   
  
hair was pulled back into a short ponytail and she had put her glasses on. She   
  
looked over to the right and saw policemen still examining the crime scene were   
  
Diane's body had been removed. She turned away from the eerie sight and headed   
  
for the stairs. She stepped over some broken glass and continued down. She saw   
  
the broken entertainment center had been taken away and the kitchen had been   
  
completely sealed off.  
  
Kara saw Dan sitting on the couch by himself, not talking, not moving. He   
  
just sat there staring out the window ahead of him. Kara felt guilty for pushing   
  
him away before. She felt guilty about being afraid of her own son. "You're   
  
being stupid." She said to herself. Dan had been through such an ordeal tonight.   
  
He had been attacked twice in a matter of hours. Kara knew she needed to be   
  
there for him right now. Stephen was in safe hands right now and they would let   
  
her and Thom know as soon as he was ok.   
  
Kara walked over to her son and sat down next to him. Dan didn't move, he   
  
sat perfectly still. Kara gently put her hand on his shoulder and he suddenly   
  
flinched. She pulled back surprised, "It's just me." He looked at her. His face   
  
was pale and his eyes were dark. He made no sound. Kara felt uneasy again and   
  
tensed up. Slowly, Dan's expression changed. A tear fell down his cheek, then   
  
another. His eyes began to leak and a low sound came from his throat. The noise   
  
grew into a whimper and Dan broke down and started crying.   
  
Kara felt the uneasiness pushed out of her as her maternal instincts took   
  
over. She quickly wrapped her arms around her son and held him to her. He put   
  
his head in her shoulder and continued sobbing. Kara felt her own eyes well up   
  
from guilt. How could she feel so uneasy around her baby, "It's ok baby, just   
  
let it out. Let it all out Danny." She patted his head soothingly as he let go   
  
of all the pain and anger, all the guilt and fear that had been plaguing him.  
  
Mark was going well over the speed limit, "You know Doyle, if the guys at   
  
the station found out how fast the sheriff was driving right now, I'd never hear   
  
the end of it." Thom was cracking his knuckles, his eyes darted back and forth   
  
as his mind rushed with thoughts, "That's it. Dan, this is all about him." Mark   
  
looked at Thom worriedly, "What is, what are you talking about Thom?" Thom spoke   
  
aloud, "I got an email about a month ago. It was some kind of anonymous tip.   
  
Said they knew I was researching the Myers history. Gave me a name. John Tate.   
  
That's all it said. I did research and discovered Laurie's son all the way in   
  
California. Tipped off by a fucking stranger!" Mark nodded, "Yeah? And?" Thom   
  
Clenched his jaw in frustration, "None of this would have happened if I hadn't   
  
asked John to come here, if I'd never found him...He's the answer. He and Dan."   
  
John was groggily coming to. He felt a dull pain in the back of his neck   
  
as he slowly tilted his head back. He winced when the dull pain became sharp. He   
  
wearily opened his eyes and felt blood drying on the side of his face. He   
  
started to cough when he realized he had a gag in his mouth. He tried to move   
  
and discovered he had been tied down into a chair. He was more conscious now and   
  
looked down at himself. He saw his legs wrapped together with rope. He struggled   
  
a bit but his arms were tied behind him and he could barely move.   
  
John groaned as he was plagued by various aches in his body, it was like   
  
he had been beaten into unconsciousness. He felt the bitter fabric of his gag   
  
scratching his tongue and it made his jaw sore. John looked around at his   
  
surroundings. He was in a massive stone room, like some sort of church or   
  
Masonic temple. Hundreds of candles were scattered throughout the room causing   
  
red shadows to dance across the walls. John looked upwards and saw a large   
  
decrepit chandelier hanging from the ceiling, it swung slowly also decorated   
  
with candles. He struggled a bit more but stopped when he saw something out of   
  
the corner of his eye. He looked ahead to the other side of the room and saw   
  
Stephen also tied to a chair. The fragile boy was littered with cuts and his   
  
clown costume was torn open. He also had blood on his face and in his hair. He   
  
was unconscious and did not move save for his shallow breathing.   
  
John struggled in vain to get free and help his nephew. John heard   
  
footsteps and looked past Stephen to a long hallway. A man emerged from the   
  
darkness. The man wore a long black trench coat and a black hat. He walked   
  
towards John while he spoke, "Well now, you're finally awake. We were worried   
  
you'd sleep right through the ceremony." John looked up into the man's face and   
  
glared. It was Wynn. Dr. Wynn smiled, his cold eyes looking directly into   
  
John's, "Young man, you should be thanking me. I've done what none of you   
  
could." Wynn turned to his right as he spoke, "A reunion..."   
  
Wynn stepped aside and revealed a ghastly sight which made John scream.   
  
John's eyes widened and bulged as his face turned red, his scream was muffled by   
  
the gag. The far right wall, right next to him, was a large altar. Three corpses   
  
were strewn on separate chairs below the alter. Above each corpse sat a   
  
crumbling old tombstone. The farthest gravestone read 'Judith Myers 1946-1963',   
  
the ancient skeleton of Judith sat staring upwards beneath the tombstone. John   
  
looked in horror as he saw the other two skeletons. The second skeleton sat   
  
under the stone which read, 'Jamie Lloyd', the third and final skeleton which   
  
was the freshest sat beneath it's respective tombstone which read, 'Laurie   
  
Strode 1961-2002'. John felt his stomach imploding as he began heaving and   
  
gagging. His relatives, his mother, their bodies had been desecrated and brought   
  
here.   
  
Two men in black suites entered from the dark hallway with another body in   
  
their arms, it was Sara. Terrence looked at them and signaled to an empty chair   
  
next to Laurie's body, "Over there gentlemen." They heaved the body into the   
  
chair and walked away. Terrence looked back to John who had tears of disgust in   
  
his eyes, "We took a little souvenir from the morgue. Soon we'll have a   
  
complete set. Then the harvest can begin."   
  
Kara brushed her son's blonde bangs out of his face. She smiled at a few   
  
policemen who walked past her. She looked at Dan and quietly said, "Why don't   
  
you go up to your room for awhile and try to get some sleep." Dan nodded and got   
  
up off the couch. He walked over to the stairway, stepping over a puddle of   
  
drying blood. He turned and looked down at the red stain then looked up to Kara,   
  
"I wanna move." Kara forced a half smile and watched as her son tiredly crept up   
  
the stairs.   
  
Dan walked down the hallway and lifted a strip of yellow police tape   
  
ceiling off the end off the hallway. He looked around and saw a few policemen   
  
climbing up the ladder into the attic. Dan waited until they were out of sight,   
  
then he walked over to the wall next to the ladder. He saw the cracked plaster   
  
in the ceiling from where the fire poker had smashed through it. He stared at   
  
the large blood smear on the wall. Dan's eyes glazed over as he stared at the   
  
tempting crimson.   
  
He reached a hand out slowly and placed his finger tips against the moist   
  
blood. He felt the sticky substance in his fingers and felt a strange urge   
  
overcome him. He pulled his hand back and brought his bloody fingers up to his   
  
face. His pupils dilated as the smell of Diane's blood swept over him. He was   
  
flooded with a dark force that clouded his mind. He brought his fingers up to   
  
his mouth and delicately ran his tongue along his middle finger. His body   
  
trembled as the salty taste assaulted his tongue. Dan ran his long tongue across   
  
his other fingers and started lapping the blood up like a cat.  
  
"Hey kid, what the hell are you doing here?" Dan snapped out of his daze   
  
and looked up. One of the policemen was looking down at him from the attic door.   
  
Dan quickly turned around and briskly walked past the yellow tape, lifting it up   
  
over his head as he passed it. He reached his bedroom door and swept himself   
  
into it, closing and locking the door behind him.   
  
John was panting with fear and nausea, he couldn't take his eyes off of   
  
the four bodies spread out ritualistically next to him. Judith, his mother, his   
  
sister, Sara...they were all dead. John turned away and looked over at Stephen,   
  
he was still unconscious. John thought to himself, 'Molly, where are you? Are   
  
you dead? Are you here?' he knew deep down in his heart that she was gone. He   
  
felt the tears stinging in his eyes. The sweat and blood on his brow mixed with   
  
his tears. He quietly wept for his fiancé while several people entered this   
  
decrepit sanctuary.   
  
Wynn had walked over to the center of the room. A large altar was sitting   
  
on the dusty ground. "Prepare the sacrifice." Wynn barked. Two men hidden in   
  
black cloaks walked over to the altar and began placing red candles on the   
  
ground around it. John watched in fearful awe as the candles began to form a   
  
shape, like a triangle with a long line. The men then walked over to the wall   
  
Stephen was sitting against and reached past him. There were two torches mounted   
  
on the wall above Stephen, each man grabbed one and went back to the altar. They   
  
began lighting the candles on the ground. Terrence walked over to John and knelt   
  
down so they were at eye level.   
  
John stared up at the man with fear and hatred in his eyes. Terrence   
  
smiled coldly and calmly spoke, "I see that fire in your eyes son. I saw that   
  
same fire in Michael's eyes when I first met him. Sam never knew what he was   
  
dealing with, but I did. Tonight we witness the end of a legacy, and the   
  
beginning of a new one." Terrence looked behind him at Stephen then turned back   
  
to John, "You and the child are the last of his kin. The two of you are all that   
  
is left, the last generations of a cursed lineage. With your deaths, Michael's   
  
destiny will be fulfilled and another may be afflicted with the disease." John's   
  
eyes widened and Terrence smiled, "Yes, your friend Daniel Strode will soon   
  
become our new vessel. The Strode bloodline will be afflicted and we will try   
  
once again to harness the purest of all powers...evil."  
  
John tried to shout something at Wynn but his gagged only aloud a muffled   
  
groan to escape his lips. Terrence crossed his arms and nodded smugly, "Don't   
  
worry dear boy, you'll soon be reunited with your family." 


	17. Reunion

Chapter 17: Reunion  
  
Mark saw the road sign ahead and signaled, "We're almost there." They turned off onto a quiet road. Thom relaxed into his seat. He was trying to stay calm and not get over worked about what was happening. His mind was rushing with thoughts. Tons of tiny explosions were going off in his head as he made connections and realizations.  
  
Mark rolled down his window and felt the cool air blow through his hair. He studied the roadsides as they drove. Mark watched the dark autumn leaves sway and fall from the shadowed trees. He felt the moist air now cold from the rain. Mark thought about his wife Grace and their daughter Anna.  
  
He smiled to himself as he looked at his watch. It was already 9:45. Where had the time gone? Mark took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose. He thought about Grace. She was probably asleep by now, quietly snoring in her rocking chair next to Anna's crib, a children's book still open in her lap, a warm bottle of milk resting next to Anna's slumbering form.  
  
Mark looked over to Thom who was stewing in his seat. Still brooding about Myers Mark thought. And why shouldn't he be? In one night all hell had broken loose in this town...again. Mark's face changed, as his thoughts grew dark. How many people had died two years ago? How many families had he had to speak with, telling them their beloved son or daughter had been murdered by the town's bloody mascot.  
  
Mark's hands tightened around the steering wheel as he smoldered. This was his town. He's spent the last decade or so protecting it. He grew up here. Haddonfield used to be such a nice little town. As a child, Mark used to complain about how there was never enough action in town. Well, he'd had his fair share tonight.  
  
Sheriff Grayson turned right at a stop sign and looked ahead, "We're here." Thom looked ahead and saw the building out in the darkness, past the fog, "Smith's Grove."  
  
Jesse had convinced her parents to let her go over to Dan's house once more. They were obviously hesitant because of what happened earlier that night. Her parents agreed to drive her themselves, to the Doyle residence.  
  
She stepped out of the car as her mother rolled down the front passenger window, "Jess...don't be long ok?" Jess looked over her shoulder and saw the menacing house now bathed in the red and blue lights emanating from the police cars. She shivered as she looked at the web of yellow police tape surrounding the yard.  
  
Jesse looked back to her mom and forced a smile, "I wont mom. I just have to let Dan know that I'm here for him." Jesse's dad looked up from the steering wheel and said, "Couldn't you have just called him hun?" Jesse shook her head, "No, I need to see him. I need to be with him right now. We've been through so much tonight...together. I can't leave him alone just yet."  
  
Her mother sighed but looked to Jesse's dad, "It'll be ok dear. Just let her go." Her father thought a moment and said sternly, "Ten minutes. I mean it Jesse, be back out here in ten minutes." Jesse could tell how worried her parents were so she quietly nodded and turned to walk away.  
  
Her mother called out once more, "Jesse?" Jesse looked back, her mother had pleading eyes "I love you." Jesse's eyes were bleak, she felt tears coming but forced them back. She would not cry in front of her parents. She took a deep breath and said, "I love you to mom. Ten minutes. I promise." She turned and walked up over the curb and onto the Doyle's yard. Her parent's car sat idling quietly, exhaust slowly pouring out of their car.  
  
Jesse walked over the cold grass and heard it break under her sneakers. The air was cold and damp from the rain. She could see her breath. She looked up into the black sky and sighed. A light fog had emerged from the storm and cast an eerie haze around the neighborhood. Jesse walked up to the Doyle's front door, a large white door with a window at the top. She stood at the doorway a moment, working up the courage, and then she slowly knocked.  
  
The loud clang broke the stillness of the night. She waited impatiently growing more and more anxious until a figure appeared through the window. The door unlocked and opened to reveal the tired form of Kara. Jesse could see the poor woman's frailties in all their plain glory. Her hair slightly messed and pulled into a ponytail. Her glasses hid the saddened eyes of a broken mother. Jesse felt an instant jolt of sympathy and immediately stepped forward and embraced Kara tightly.  
  
Kara was taken aback by this sudden jester of kindness and reluctantly placed an arm around Jesse's back. Jesse spoke innocently, like a little girl, "Kara, I'm so sorry for what's happened to your family tonight, to all of us. If there's anything I can do..." Kara smiled warmly as she released the young woman from their embrace, "I know, thank you Jesse. I think Dan is the one who you could help the most. Do you want to come in?" Jesse bowed her head down politely and entered the shattered home.  
  
Kara stepped aside and looked away in shame as she closed the door. Jesse stared at the living room, what was left of it. The once elegant coffee table now shattered to pieces. The television and entertainment center were now in splintered fragments of their former selves. Jesse looked down and saw the red stains in the floor. She quickly looked back up and tried to forget the sight. Kara walked forward, "Sorry about the mess..."  
  
Jesse looked at the staircase and said, "Is Dan upstairs?" Kara walked over to the couch as she spoke, "Yeah, he was pretty upset about it all, especially Stephen." Jesse turned and looked at the older woman, "How is he? Stephen I mean. Have you heard anything yet?" Kara looked down at her shaky hands and sighed, "No, nothing yet. They must still be in surgery or something. Our phone's not working right now anyways but the police said they'd inform us as soon as they heard anything.  
  
Jesse looked into the kitchen where several officers were writing notes down and speaking in walkie-talkies, "When are they leaving?" Kara turned and looked at the cops, "I don't know, probably not until Thom and the others come back." Jesse started up the stairs and Kara stood up and slowly motioned, "H-he might be sleeping." Jesse looked at her and nodded, "Are you alright?" Kara was obviously not but she smiled and nodded, "Yeah, I will be as soon as Thom and Stephen get back safe and sound."  
  
Jesse turned her attention back to the staircase. She started walking up them. She saw the blood on the walls a she stepped further up into the second floor of the house. She kept her eyes straight ahead to avoid the sight of the blood. She gasped to herself as she saw the attic ladder and wall covered in blood. She looked down at the ground and closed her eyes tightly as she reached the top of the stairs. Jesse quickly turned and crept under the yellow tape blocking off the hallway. She reached Dan's door and knocked, "Dan? It's Jesse, can I come in?"  
  
The wooden door slowly creaked open. No light escaped the room. Jesse slowly leaned forward so try and see into it better, "Dan?" She stepped into the dark room. Jesse grew stiff as she looked around. All of Dan's posters had been torn off his walls. His bed sheets were strewn about the floor; Jesse grew worried and spoke again, "Dan?" She looked at the corner of the bedroom, near his closet and saw Dan sitting on the ground with his hands wrapped around his knees.  
  
Jesse felt a deep numbing pain in her heart as she saw her love cradling his broken form. She walked over to him and knelt down. She put her hands on Dan's face. His skin was cold and clammy. Jesse brushed his damp bangs away from his hidden face. She drew his face close to hers with her fingers. Dan looked at her, not at her but...through her. Jesse spoke, "Babe, it's ok. I'm here, you're not alone ok?" Dan didn't speak, he just stared right through her, past her body, through the wall and past the house. He looked straight into the darkness bleeding from his soul.  
  
Daniel Strode was nearly gone and Jesse tried with all her might to pull him back to reality. "I'm going to turn on the light ok?" Jesse slowly backed up and turned around. She walked over to the light switch. Dan slowly rose to his feet. A blank emotionless face stared at Jessica Taylor as she fumbled with the light switch. Her back turned away from the growing evil behind her. Dan breathed heavily. Jesse flicked the switch on and off a few more times then sighed and gave up. She turned and was surprised by the tall shape staring at her, "Oh! Dan...are you ok?" Dan stood staring at her and breathing. He didn't make a sound.  
  
Jesse shivered, something about her boyfriend was making her very uneasy, "Look, if you don't want to talk to me it's ok...I'll just leave." She waited for an answer but only got the sound of shallow breathing. Jesse felt a tiny flicker of panic shoot through her body. She suddenly wanted to get out of this room, out of this house. I um...think I'm gonna go Dan. Call me in the morning." She backed up and bumped into the wall and jumped. She slowly slid over to the door and stepped back into the hallway. Jesse looked at her boyfriend and slowly closed the door. She turned around and fell against the door. She took a few breaths and then walked back over to the stairs rather hastily.  
  
Kara was sitting in the living room quietly thinking. Two policemen walked past her and went into the kitchen. She didn't look up as they went by, all she did was close her eyes and run her hands through her red hair. She thought about Dan and how odd it had been when she was talking to him. He seemed normal enough but something had just been...off Kara had gotten a very cold feeling when she was near her son and she couldn't explain why. What she did know though, was that the feeling was getting stronger as the night continued.  
  
Kara heard footsteps and looked up at the staircase. She watched in surprise as Jesse came hurriedly down the steps. Kara stood up and walked over to Jesse who looked flustered and uneasy. The girl looked as if she'd seen a ghost. Kara reached for Jesse's shoulder but the girl flinched. Kara frowned and inquired, "Are you all right Jesse? Did you talk to Dan?" Jesse quickly looked up into Kara's eyes and said, "Yeah uh, he's fine. Just tired which I guess I sorta am too. I uh, my parents are waiting so I really have to go now Mrs. Doyle." Jesse was rambling and Kara could tell she was shaken up.  
  
Jesse walked over to the front door and fumbled with the doorknob. Kara looked down at the girls hands curiously as she struggled to open the door. Jesse was becoming agitated with the difficult door handle and Kara leaned forward to help. She slowly unlocked the latch and the door opened. Jesse quickly stepped outside and gave Kara a quick wave, "I uh, I'll come visit tomorrow ok? Ok, bye and goodnight." Jesse turned and started walking towards her parent's car. Kara stood in the doorway watching in confusion as the young blonde girl picked up pace. She glanced back at Kara then quickly got into the back seat of the car.  
  
Jesse sat down in the back seat and closed the door; she was slightly shaking and trying to calm down. Her mother looked back at her, "Jesse? Are you ok? What happened in there?" Jesse looked out the window and saw Kara standing in the doorway.  
  
The first few drops of a new storm began painting the streets as Jesse stared out of the glazed car window. She saw the expression on Mrs. Doyle's pale face. Jesse weakly reached up and placed a hand on the window. Kara lifted a saddened arm and half waved as the car drove away.  
  
The rain increased as Kara pulled back and stepped back into her wrecked home. She stared out into the neighborhood. The quiet homes of happy families taunted her. Kara frowned as she looked out into this 'safe' suburban farce. A lot of good this happy visage had done for her and her family. She and Thom had a few rough patches over the years but in the end, he saved her life and her sons. She loved him for that and she had to fight to maintain the happy family for her children.  
  
Kara hadn't had a pleasant upbringing. Her father had been a miserable drunk as far back as she could remember. He was a cruel and bitter man who took his own misfortunes out on her and her mother and brother. Kara had grown up learning the might of his fist and the savagery of his lust. Many nights Kara had blocked out, nights of unwelcome bedtime visits from her father.  
  
Kara and her brother Tim had grown accustomed to seeing the bruises on their mother, her excuses became routine. Apparently Debra Strode was a very clumsy woman for she was known to walk into doors at least three or four times a week, so she claimed.  
  
Kara and her brother had begun to distance themselves from what was really happening to their mother. Tim would just ignore the bruises and pretend everything was fine. Kara found it harder to disregard, as she would often find herself with the same unexplainable bruises from being 'clumsy'.  
  
Clumsy, that's what the family learned to call it when someone displeased their father. By the time Kara was seventeen she had had enough. She packed her suitcase and left town for more than five years. She said goodbye to her brother and mother and left one stormy night while her father was passed out in his recliner with a bottle of liquor in one hand, and a bloody fist in the other.  
  
Kara tried to convince her mother to come with her but Debra just smiled sweetly trying to hide the tears as she held the tissues over her broken nose. Tim had just run to his room and turned the volume on his stereo as high as he could bear, which at the time was fairly high.  
  
Some might say that Kara had just given up, others might say she ran out on her family, but most who know her well enough know the best word to describe her departure would be 'escape'. Kara escaped and all was good in her knew home in Chicago. She had started a job as a waitress and even found a boyfriend.  
  
It wasn't until one cold winter day in December when Kara sat in the bathroom nursing a bloody nose did she realize her mistake. Kara had fallen in love with a man who seemed to be the kindest, gentlest person in the world. Sure he had a few drinks on occasion but it wasn't serious.  
  
Kara was so confident in their relationship that she suggested they move in together. It took some convincing but she won in the end and soon she was packing boxes once more in her little one room apartment and moving in to a glamorous little penthouse with a fireplace and a view of the city, and she was moving in with the love of her life.  
  
Despite the fact that Jeff was drinking more, Kara was happy with her life, mostly. Sure, her boyfriend had a bit of a temper but it only surfaced when he'd had one too many drinks. Kara knew Jeff loved her; he only got upset with her when she was stupid. She found herself, however, becoming more and more stupid because Jeff seemed to be getting more upset more often.  
  
It was late December when Kara realized just how bad things really were. She had escaped her father yes. She had left that violent life behind and entered a better one. So how is it that things could go so terribly wrong? That's just what Kara was asking herself as she sat in the bathroom of her and Jeff's glamorous penthouse with a fireplace and view of the city.  
  
Kara's boyfriend liked to romance her but lately he had become crude in his attempts at amore. Kara would bite her lip in disgust when she thought about the nights he would come home from work drunk. The nights where he would grab her by the arm and turn her onto her stomach tear her night skirt and undo his belt. Kara would close her eyes and block out the memories.  
  
She would message her temples to keep them from exploding from the endless nights of her biting into her pillow and silently screaming as Jeff; the love of her life; would force himself inside her and tear her apart until he was finished. Kara had pushed these thoughts out of her head, but they had come rushing back to her as she sat in the bathroom, staring at the little piece of plastic up on the sink above her.  
  
Kara had sat up and slowly looked at the results of the biggest test she'd ever have to take. There was no way for her to cheat; no make up work that could nullify this test's results. Kara had sat in silence for the longest thirty seconds ever. She watched with unbearable anticipation as the color slowly formed. Light did not hit her eyes with any mercy as her brain processed the color she was seeing.  
  
Kara had processed the information over and over in her mind. 'Blue?' Kara would shake her head, not it's just a malfunction. It can't be blue. But it was blue. The little .5 X .5 inch square of color had dealt a blow to Kara that knocked her of her feet. As she slowly regained her balance she caught sight of herself in the mirror. She turned to her side and lifted her arms, she place them onto her stomach. Kara looked at her reflection as the sound of Jeff's snoring echoed in their glamorous penthouse. Kara was pregnant.  
  
Kara never did tell Jeff about their child, she felt he didn't need to know. What would he do? Tell her to abort the pregnancy, she couldn't do that no matter what the circumstances of it's existence. Kara ended her relationship with Jeff but not before he rearranged her face one more time. It was at that moment as she ran out of her glamorous penthouse and into the elevator with Jeff yelling back at her, "You ungrateful Slut!" that she realized this was what her own mother never had the spine to do.  
  
Kara refused to let a child grow up in that kind of environment. She would not have her son or daughter sit in his or her bedroom and have to turn the stereo volume up to it's max so he or she could block out the sound of one parent beating the other. So, Kara moved back into her little one room apartment and had her child alone and safe.  
  
That was seventeen years ago. Kara stared out into the cold neighborhood as the rain increased. Kara remembered how innocent Dan had looked when she first held him, "I love you Daniel Timothy Strode." She had said to him, "I promise I'll never let anything bad happen to you." Kara made that promise the day her son was born. She tried raising him on her own, teaching him the ways of life while still learning them herself.  
  
Eventually though, the burden of the two became too much and Kara realized she needed help. She hadn't spoken a word to her family in seven years save for the occasional letter to Tim. One day in early June of 95' she worked up the courage to call her mother. Debra was so happy to hear from her only daughter, but not enough to speak in a regular tone. Her husband was sleeping you see, and Debra didn't dare wake him by speaking with her daughter in an impolitely loud manner.  
  
Kara let it slip. The words just broke from her grasp and her hands clasped around her mouth too little too late. "What's that dear? A Son?" Debra asked nervously. Kara tried in her mind to take it back ' I have a son' why she had let the words escape her, she never did know. There had been a moment of silence over the line as the too women processed the information. Eventually Debra broke the awkward stillness by saying, "Well, am I ever going to get to meet my grandson?" Kara remembered her promise to her son and was hesitant to allow Daniel to be exposed to the naked truth about his family.  
  
Debra had become desperate and in a moment of selfishness, the only she ever had and one that her husband would always hate her for, she asked, "Why don't you come and stay with us dear, your father's changed. Really, he's a better man now, he took over Morgan's realty company and we just moved into a wonderful house. There's plenty of room dear."  
  
Kara, in a flash of false hope that everything could be better, agreed, "Well, mom...Danny and I have been on our own for awhile now. I guess...he does want to meet his grandparents and uncle. I guess..." Kara had still been unsure but her naïve mother insisted, "Of course dear! We'd love to have you back, it's been so long." With those words, Debra Strode had started a chain reaction that would eventually seal her very grave, but she didn't know. All she had wanted was to bring some semblance of togetherness to her distanced family. Kara broke and agreed to return to her old family, the one she'd spent years trying to forget.  
  
Kara felt her eyes getting misty and closed the front door, ending her walk down memory lane. She turned around and saw a policeman speaking on his radio. She walked up to him and tapped his shoulder. He finished his conversation and said, "Yes Mrs. Doyle, what is it?"  
  
Kara bit her lip as she struggled to ask the question. The words formed eventually and she spoke, "Have you heard anything from Thom and Sheriff Grayson? What about Stephen and Lindsay, did they reach the hospital, are they safe? Please, I have to know!" Kara had put her hands on the officer's shoulder and he could tell she was at the end of her rope. He took a step back and cleared his throat, "I'm sorry ma'am but we haven't heard anything from the hospital yet, they probably are taking longer to get there because of the weather. As for your husband and the sheriff, I just spoke to him and he said they just arrived at the sanitarium."  
  
Kara frowned, why had Thom insisted on going back to that wretched place. Neither Kara nor Thom would set foot on the property of Smith's Grove, not even to lead policemen to the supposed cult lair they had been taken to nearly a decade ago. Without any corroborating evidence, it was Thom and Kara's word against the word of an esteemed and prestigious medical facility, which adamantly denied any alleged illegal activity or questionable occult conduct. Kara felt the growing disgust inside her at the though of that smarmy bastard Wynn. How he'd manipulated this town to suite his own twisted goals and how he'd used Lindsay to continue his insane obsession with controlling Myers.  
  
Kara thanked the officer and walked over to the kitchen to get a glass of water. She was stopped by a policeman who said, "I'm sorry Mrs. Doyle but you can't come in here. CSU is still collecting evidence and well, it's not really pretty in there. The cop looked over his shoulder and saw several policemen gathering various body fragments from the kitchen door. There was blood and brain matter from Officer Starks' head that had painted the doors exterior. The CSU agents were meticulously collecting specimens and placing them in little plastic bags.  
  
The bodies of Kara's beloved cats had been removed but their presence was not forgotten. Glass was still being cleaned up from the window Jonesy had been thrown through. Kara looked up at the policeman in front of her and said in a quiet desperate voice, "May I please have a glass of water?" The officer nodded and said, "Why don't you go sit down ma'am, I'll bring you something to drink." Kara nodded and turned around numbly.  
  
She seemed to float back to the couch, as if she wasn't really there. In some ways, Kara wasn't there; she was up in the sky floating around. As a child she had learned from the many times her father was 'loving' her, how to distance herself from her body and surroundings. Kara plopped down on to the couch and waited patiently.  
  
Dan was standing in front of the mirror above his dresser. He was looking at the unfamiliar reflection which stared blankly back at him. No emotion, no conscious, nothing but a blank pale shape. Dan felt as if he were trapped in a giant cave that was his body. His soul, his existence was being pulled further and further into the darkness growing inside of him. He looked through two openings in this prison, windows to the outside world and saw the true form of evil looking back at him.  
  
Daniel spoke in a low monotone voice, "What are you doing?" he thought about Jesse, had she just been here? He couldn't remember. Most of the night's events were becoming a blur. The only thing Dan could keep focused on were those black eyes in the reflection. Dan forced himself to step back and with a force of ungodly will, he turned his head away from the mirror.  
  
Thom and Mark pulled into a large empty parking lot behind the Smith's Grove facility. Mark took a deep breath and stepped out of the car. It had been almost a decade since he'd last step foot on this evil property. Mark got out of the squad car and took his radio out, "Boys, Doyle and I just arrived at Smith's Grove. I'll keep you posted. I'll call if I need back up."  
  
Mark glanced across the parking lot and folded his arms, "Well I'll be damned." Thom looked up and saw what Mark was staring at. A large black helicopter was sitting on a launch pad at the other end of the parking lot. It was the same helicopter that had only an hour or so earlier intruded on Thom's home. Thom glared and cracked his knuckles, "Wynn."  
  
Mark walked around the squad car and popped the trunk. He pulled out a rifle. Thom's eyes widened. Mark smiled, "Just in case." Mark looked back at the helicopter and said, "I think we're gonna need back up after all."  
  
Lindsay was sitting on the cold cement floor of Michael's cell, trying to come to some sane resolution to all this madness. "His son...his son..." Lindsay was quietly saying that to herself over and over. She looked up to the blood shrine and her stomach tightened as she reread the names of the slain Myers family members. "It all started with Judith..."  
  
Lindsay screamed in frustration and in a brief moment of rage began thrashing away from the rope holding her to the wall. She tugged and pulled and screamed as she struggled to regain freedom. Eventually she tired though and settled back to her original position. Her long black hair fell over her eyes as she began thinking again. She searched the deepest recesses of her mind for a solution. She began remembering that fateful night back in 1978 that had changed her life forever.  
  
Haddonfield, Illinois October 31st 1978  
  
Dr. Loomis was walking from house to house searching for some red flag of Michael's presence when he heard them. Little Tommy Doyle and Lindsay Wallace came running out of the Doyle residence, screaming like banshees. Loomis didn't need to look any further; he started running towards the house prepared to fight the boogieman.  
  
Lindsay and Tommy however continued to run. They ran down the street and into Lindsay's house, as it was the nearest safe place to be. Or so they thought. Tommy banged on the door shouting, "Let us in please!" Lindsay wiped the tears from her eyes and tapped Tommy's shoulder, "Tommy! My parents aren't home either remember? But look, the door's unlocked." Lindsay turned the handle and sure enough, the tall white door creaked open.  
  
Lindsay stepped in but Tommy stayed behind. Lindsay stopped and looked at the little boy, "What's the matter?" she asked. Tommy looked down at his feet and shuffled a bit before saying, "I, I saw him walking outside of here earlier...maybe we shouldn't go in." Tommy looked at Lindsay who stopped and thought a moment. The little girl shook her head, "No, the monster man is dead. Laurie killed him. We need to call for help."  
  
Tommy argued, "But the Mackenzie's! Laurie said to go there!" Lindsay put an arm on Tommy and said, "They're not even home. My mom and Dad went to a party with them tonight. C'mon Tommy, it's my house. We'll be safe." Tommy looked behind Lindsay at the dark house behind her. He crossed his arms and stepped past her, "Fine, but you'd better let me go in first." Lindsay stepped aside and the little boy stepped into the house. Lindsay followed and shut the door.  
  
The house was dark and only the sound of the clock ticking away the night could be heard. Lindsay walked into the living room and looked around. Tommy walked up behind her and bumped into her. Lindsay screamed and jumped. She whirled around and saw Tommy, "Don't scare me like that anymore!" Tommy smirked and said, "Sorry. Do you have a flashlight or something?" Lindsay thought a moment then started walking towards the kitchen. She walked into the dark kitchen and opened the pantry. Tommy walked in after her and saw her rummaging through the pantry. She pulled back with two flashlights and handed one to Tommy. Tommy took it and turned it on, shining it in Lindsay's face. Lindsay squinted, "Stop it..." she whined.  
  
Tommy shined the flashlight on the phone sitting on the counter behind Lindsay, "I'll call the police." The little boy stepped past Lindsay and reached for the phone. Lindsay whispered, "I have to potty." Tommy rolled his eyes, "So go then!" Lindsay glared at Tommy and turned her head in a huff. She walked out of the kitchen and headed for the stairwell. Tommy started dialing. As he waited he set his flashlight down. The light hit the glass doors that let out to the backyard. Tommy failed to notice the broken glass on the door for if he had his instincts would have been to go grab Lindsay and get out of the house. Instead, he simply waited on the phone while Lindsay went to the bathroom.  
  
Lindsay came out of the bathroom in the upstairs hallway of her house. This was the house she had been born in. Her parents had taken out a loan and were nearly finished paying it off. They had made plans to repaint the upstairs. Lindsay wanted to paint her room pink but her mom insisted it was too 'tacky'. Her mother and she had come up with a compromise. They would paint her room beige but buy the little girl a new pink bedspread. Lindsay had been satisfied with their compromise. If there was one thing little Lindsay Wallace was good at, it was getting what she wanted.  
  
Lindsay walked down the hallway to her bedroom and peeked in. she saw her stuffed animals grinning back at her. She looked at her bed and those ugly purple sheets. Soon she would have her coveted pink bed spread and all in her world would be better. She could forget about the ordeal tonight and get on with her life.  
  
Her mind kept going back to that horrible man that had attacked him. At first glance when he had walked up the stairs, she had been listening to Laurie tell her and Tommy what to do. She saw what she had thought to be a robot at the time. It was something about the way he moved that made the little girl think he wasn't a man. Then she saw his face and she knew he wasn't a man, he was a monster. Tommy had been right, there was a boogieman and he wore a white rubber mask.  
  
Before tonight the only thing that really scared Lindsay was going into the basement alone. It made her claustrophobic and that basement smelled like rotten turnips. Other than that Lindsay loved monsters, and nothing scared her. She always tried to stay up late to watch monster movies with her parents. Tonight, Annie had tried to break the girls record by scaring her with a movie marathon. Annie didn't know whom she was messing with, Lindsay thought.  
  
Lindsay knew Annie had ditched her tonight; it didn't take a genius to figure that out. Annie had wanted to spend Halloween night with her boyfriend. Lindsay didn't blame her though; she knew it was hard for Annie to find any free time anymore. Annie had been incredibly busy as of late. Between studying for her entrance exams and applying for scholarships, Annie had to maintain her position on the student council.  
  
Annie had a reputation for being a leader and being the daughter of the sheriff didn't help that. As a Brackett, she was associated with her father and his high standards. She also had to keep her grades up so she could apply for valedictorian. On top of all that, Annie tried to maintain a social life and make some money on the side. Since she didn't have the time for a part time job, she settled for babysitting.  
  
Annie was Lindsay's favorite babysitter though she'd never admit it. Annie was always taking Lindsay to the movies or the park or the mall. Deep down, Lindsay really looked up to Annie and thought of her more as a sister.  
  
Lindsay turned and walked out of her room. She started heading back for the stairs when a flicker in the light caught her attention. Out of the corner of the little girl's eye, she saw the yellow light dancing in her parent's room. Slowly, she turned and started walking towards her parents' room. She curiously put her hand on the door handle and turned it.  
  
Lindsay opened the door and her heart stopped momentarily. Her blood froze in her veins as her eyes widened. She walked forward numbly and stared at her parents' bed in awe. At first she thought Annie was sleeping which was odd since her eyes were open. The little girl shook Annie's cold body while the Jack-o-lantern on the nightstand next to the bed grinned at the little girl like a sadistic clown. The pumpkin's candlelight danced on Annie's blank face.  
  
Lindsay spoke quietly, "Annie wake up, I was just kidding bout telling everyone you got locked in the washing room. Annie please..." Lindsay felt the tears coming on as she pleaded with the corpse. She looked down at Annie's neck; the angry cut in it was still glistening with freshly spilt blood. Lindsay clutched her flashlight tightly and brought her other hand up to her own neck.  
  
Lindsay started backing up. She fell to her knees and continued shuffling back, right into the closet behind her. She started hyperventilating and was trying to control her breathing when she felt something wet drop onto her cheek. Lindsay froze; she didn't know what to do. The little girl whimpered. If she didn't look up, then nothing bad could happen. Lindsay didn't want to look up. She couldn't help it though; she slowly tilted her head back. The warm substance on her cheek pooled up and started oozing down the side of her face. Another drop splashed onto her cheek, just below her eye.  
  
Lindsay Wallace felt her inner organs rearrange themselves to accommodate her stomach with had just sunk into the hollow regions of her body. A tiny whimper escaped the little girls lips as she stared up in horrific shock. Bob Simms, one of Annie and Laurie's friends as well as her other babysitter Lynda's boyfriend, was hanging from his feet right above her.  
  
The little girl choked on an impending scream as the boy's body swayed over her head, his arms swung gently from side to side. The blood from the wound in his chest had coursed down his arms and was dripping from his fingertips. Lindsay sat there in the dark closet, her flashlight still in hand. As she slowly started to crawl out from under Bob's reach, his dead fingers brushed past her hair and through one of her braided ponytails. Lindsay started crying in disgust as she struggled to free her hair from the dead man's hand. She threw herself forward and landed on her stomach. Her flashlight slipped from her grasp and rolled away from her.  
  
Lindsay looked up and saw Annie's hand hanging over the edge of the bed she was on. Lindsay brushed away the tears in her eyes and stood up. She looked down at the ground and started scanning the area for her missing flashlight. There was no sign of the flashlight in front of her so Lindsay slowly turned around still looked at the floor. She searched ahead and saw the flashlight sitting idly on the ground next to the back wall.  
  
Lindsay's eyes followed the path of light emitting from the light. Her eyes stopped dead when she saw what the flashlight was shining on. Lindsay's throat expanded and her eyes grew wide. Glowing in the flashlights beam, stuffed in a cupboard was Annie's friend Lynda. Lindsay found her scream.  
  
Tommy was on hold as the operator tried to patch him through to the police department. He stood in the kitchen listening to mock soothing elevator music as he tapped his fingers on the kitchen counter. He casually glanced to his left and the broken glass on the floor caught his attention. He was staring at the glass on the ground when a voice on the phone finally answered him. He was about to speak when he heard Lindsay's scream. Tommy immediately dropped the phone and ran out of the kitchen. He raced up the stairs and plowed into Lindsay's parents' room.  
  
Tommy stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the ghastly sight. The three bodies were spread out like trophies. Tommy looked to his right and found Lindsay huddled in a corner crying. Tommy ran over to her, "Lindsay! It's ok." She stood up and ran into his arms. She cried while he patted her head, "It's ok, we have to get out of here." Tommy walked over to the bedroom window and turned pale as he moved past the bed and Annie's body. He gulped as he looked down at the body.  
  
Tommy turned and looked out the window to see if anyone was around. He heard gunshots and jumped. Lindsay screamed and ran over to Tommy. They looked out the window and saw what was happening across the street. They saw a man, the boogieman, walking, no, stumbling out onto the balcony of Tommy's house. The gunshots continued until the man fell backwards of the balcony and landed with a dry thud on the lawn below. Tommy grabbed Lindsay by the hand and ran out of the room, leaving the slaughtered teens behind.  
  
They quickly scampered down the stairs and ran out the front door. Tommy stopped and Lindsay ran right into him, "What is it?" Tommy pointed out, "Look." Lindsay looked past Tommy's arm, past the street and out into the front yard of Tommy's house where the man had fallen. He had fallen right? Lindsay hadn't imagined that had she? "He's gone." Lindsay quietly whispered.  
  
"He's gone..." Lindsay spoke to herself as she sat tied down like an animal. Lindsay had seen true evil that rainy night twenty-six years ago. She had witnessed the atrocities he was capable, she had succumbed to the terror he instilled in those unfortunate enough to come across him. Michael Myers was evil incarnate, Lindsay knew this much. Tonight however, she discovered someone even more twisted than Myers. Wynn. The music started up again and Lindsay cried in disgust as the cheery little song started playing again. "When will this end?" Lindsay screamed out loud as the music played softly in the background, "God in heaven! When will this all end!" Her screams echoed in her cell and down the long corridor of dusty cells in the lower confines of the Smith's Grove Sanitarium sub basement complex.  
  
~TBC  
  
**Author's Note: Hey, hope you guys all like the story still. I'm really excited about the next few chapters, a lot of action! We're nearing the end of this tale that is my vision for Halloween 9 but don't fret, I still have plans to go forward with my vision for Halloween 10! -Liz 


	18. Genetic Curse

Chapter 18: Genetic Curse  
  
Haddonfield Illinois October 31st 1963  
  
"Mikey, don't eat your candy all at once now, you'll get cavities." Ms. Blankenship sat in her rocking chair knitting a nice periwinkle blanket as she spoke to the little six-year-old angel. Mikey was sitting on an orange shag rug in the middle of the floor of Ms. Blankenship's home. He sat there like a little monkey ravaging the contents of his candy bag. He unwrapped a little candy and stuck it in his mouth. It was a delicious chocolate and Mikey smiled as he felt it melt in his mouth.  
  
Lila Blankenship hummed a little ditty as her ancient record player played a vintage record of the Chordettes' song, "Mr. Sandman." She innocently maneuvered her fingers over and under the yarn she was sewing, her needles clicking away as she did so. The thirty something neighbor was an old family friend of the Myers. Everyday she'd stroll over to the Myers place to have tea with Audrey while Peter was out. Lila was always as sweet as can be when gossiping with her friend. She never once judged Audrey or her family, even when it became apparent that there were problems.  
  
Tonight, Audrey and Peter had decided to go out to dinner and catch a movie. Of course Audrey had asked Lila to baby-sit Michael while they were out. She said that Judith couldn't as she was studying for an exam with her boyfriend Leigh. Lila knew what that meant but would never dream of clueing in Audrey on what Judith was really doing. At times, Audrey could be almost as naïve and innocent as Michael.  
  
Lila kept a hawk's eye on little Michael as he gobbled up two more pieces of chocolate. What a sweet child, my how he had loved trick or treating. Lila Blankenship had taken the little boy out only an hour or so earlier. He had skipped from house to house, eager to show off his little clown costume.  
  
Ms. Blankenship had done her best to keep up with the feisty little boy but at times he had wandered up to two blocks ahead before she caught up to him. Now she sat in her chair for a well-deserved rest. She may have been in her prime but the years of smoking were already beginning to take their toll on her.  
  
Little Michael sat cross-legged on the carpet rummaging through his bag with a huge grin on his face. What an amazing week it had been. Yesterday had been his sixth birthday and he'd gotten this cool costume as a present from his sister. Today he had shown it off at school for his class Halloween party. Tonight had been really fun too; Michael had hardly been able to contain himself as he went from house to house getting candy.  
  
Tonight had been his first time trick or treating. He had really wanted Judith to take him but she insisted she did not have the time. Michael was disappointed but didn't argue. Instead, he went to his parents but they too had already made plans for tonight. His mother could sense his distress however and called Ms. B. Sure enough, their friendly neighbor agreed to take him out tonight.  
  
Michael had just popped another chocolate past his rosy lips when a voice startled him and nearly made him choke.  
  
"Michael."  
  
Michael looked up at Ms. B who was hummed quietly while she continued to knit. Michael pursed his lips around the chocolate as he slowly looked over his shoulder. He looked behind him and saw the front door. The howling wind had blown the screen door open and it squeaked as it slowly flapped in the breeze.  
  
"Michael. It's time."  
  
Michael's eyes glazed over as he continued to stare at the front door. Not just staring at it, but through it. He looked through the door and across the lawn. Past the white sheets hung out to dry from when his mom did their laundry. Past the newly painted front steps that led up to the front door of his own home. The home where he was born. Where he spent the last six years creating happy memories with his loving family.  
  
Michael's eyes pierced the front door and saw right through them, right past the staircase that he had fallen down when he was four and sliced his lip open. He stared right into the dining room on the other end of his home. His eyes shot through the house and fixed their sights on Judith who sat very calmly at the polished dining room table.  
  
She was reading a textbook, most likely her math book. She casually scrawled out several notes on her notebook as she read from the large book. Her boyfriend Leigh, who was not as interested in studying, maintained his posture as he rubbed his hand up and down her thigh. Michael's pupils dilated as he saw Judith flick her hand to shoo away her boyfriend's advances. She giggled as she twirled her hair and tried to regain some focus on her homework.  
  
Michael slowly stood up, the music in the background of Ms. Blankenship's house would normally have soothed the little boy into a gently slumber. Not tonight however, tonight it only fueled a rage inside his soul, a rage that would eventually consume him and never die out. The melting piece of chocolate slipped from Michaels loosened lips and fell to the ground below.  
  
Ms. Blankenship looked up from her knitting and saw the little boy rise to his feet. Without a sound, little Michael Myers began walking towards the front door. Ms. Blankenship continued to hum quietly as she knitted. She didn't speak, didn't try to stop Michael from leaving for her intentions were truly of the cruelest nature. She was in fact nothing more than a temporary guardian to the evil harnessing its power inside the little boy.  
  
Tonight was the night that evil would be released upon the world, a plague that would spread in this little town. Death was coming to Haddonfield, Illinois and Ms. Blankenship knew it. She knew it and embraced it. The thirty something woman who would eventually die of lung cancer some forty years later sat quietly humming in her chair as she watched the devil incarnate walk out of her sights.  
  
"Go my child, embrace your destiny." She whispered as the boy walked out the front door and entered the shadowy streets, becoming not a boy, but a shape in the night.  
  
October 31st 2004 Smith's Grove Sanitarium  
  
Thom and Mark began a slow arduous journey across the Smith's Grove Sanitarium parking lot. They walked through the pouring rain in silence. Thom didn't speak; his eyes were intent on their mission. Mark held his rifle steady, unsure of whether he'd need it or not. "Doyle I gotta ask, I'm prepared to walk in there toting this gun and scaring the hell out of anyone in there but before I do, I need to know this isn't just about your vendetta against Wynn."  
  
Thom stopped and looked at Mark. The forty something sheriff was drenched in rain and willing to risk his career to help his friend. Thom needed Mark. He lifted an eyebrow and spoke more casually, "Sheriff, I didn't come all the way down here to get revenge. Granted, I do have an axe to grind with that bastard but before that I...we need to find John and Lindsay. I know there here."  
  
Mark was understandably frustrated, as the sheriff he needed to make sure he set an example by doing things by the book. He sighed and said, "How do you know there even here?" Thom threw his arm out and pointed at the helicopter off in the distance, "Do you need a sign? There it is!"  
  
Mark nodded, "Alright, let's do this." Mark lifted his radio from his belt and turned it on, "Henderson? It's me. Yeah, I need that back up. I want our entire squad down here. We're taking the nuthouse tonight. I want tactical units surrounding the building. Nobody makes a move until I say so is that understood? We're not spooking the residents if this is just a false alarm."  
  
Thom lifted an eyebrow, "It's not a 'false alarm' Mark." Mark looked at him and grimaced, "Alright boys, get down here as fast as you can. Doyle and I are going inside to interrogate Dr. Wynn." Mark put his radio back onto his belt and lowered his rifle.  
  
Thom looked across the parking lot and over to the main entrance of the building. He turned to Mark and said, "Ready?" Marks sighed and adjusted his Sheriff's hat, "As I'll ever be Doyle. God damn, you'd better be wrong about this." With that said and the tension laid down, they began walking towards the front entrance.  
  
The massive building that was Smith's Grove looked like something out of a Boris Karloff nightmare. It was a large eight story complex resembling an ancient castle more so than a hospital. Thom looked at the stone building and shivered. It had been going on nine years since his last venture into this place.  
  
Kara was sitting on the couch in her once peaceful home when an officer walked up to her and handed her a glass of water. She looked up at him and he smiled, "Ma'am, my name is Henderson. Kyle Henderson. If you need anything just ask ok?" Kara nodded gratefully and started drinking from her glass.  
  
Suddenly, Henderson's radio started up and her heard the sheriff's voice. He picked up his radio and spoke, "Yes Sheriff I'm here. You want us all? Are you sure? Yes sir. Yes sir I understand. We're on our way." Kyle set his radio back onto his belt and looked at Kara, "Excuse me for a moment." She turned and watched as he walked back into the kitchen. She tilted her head curiously and watched Henderson speak to the other cops.  
  
Soon they were all walking back out into the living room and out the front door. Kara; surprised; stood up and asked, "What the hell is going on? Where are you going?" Henderson stepped past another officer and walked up to Kara, "That was Sheriff Grayson on the radio. He and Thom are entering the Smith's Grove facility and he requested immediate back up. He wants all units down there." Kara's eyes widened.  
  
She tried to find the words, Kyle could sense her anxiety and said, "Don't worry. We'll be back soon with your husband. I'll keep an officer posted at your front door to keep watch." Kara crossed her arms and spoke quite dryly, "Because that worked so well when you left two guards to watch over my children." Henderson sighed, "Ma'am, there's nothing to worry about. Myers isn't coming back. He's on his way this very moment to a hospital surrounded by police awaiting his arrival and your son's. He's not going anywhere."  
  
Kara shifted uncomfortably and leaned in close to Henderson, "I'm a little embarrassed to say this but..." Henderson nodded for her to continue. Kara looked behind him at the staircase, "I'm afraid to leave Daniel alone. He's acting strange and I'm worried what he might do."  
  
Henderson looked up at the stairs and back at the agitated woman. "Ok, I'll have an posted outside your son's room and I'll stay here with you. Is that ok?" Kara felt a small wave of relief wash over her, "Thank you."  
  
Henderson smiled and turned back to the front door. He walked out and shouted to the other officers as they got into their police cars, "Move out men, I'm staying here to keep watch. Gibbs? You stay behind and keep watch outside the boy's room." A tall lanky officer, Deputy Leo Gibbs walked up to Henderson, "You got it." He walked into the house and started up the stairs.  
  
Henderson looked back at Kara and smiled warmly, "It'll be ok Mrs. Doyle." Kara wrapped her arms around herself and smiled, "Thank you officer Henderson." Henderson replied, "Call me Kyle." Kara smiled and turned to walk back to the couch. She walked about halfway there and suddenly stopped. She slowly turned around to face Henderson, "Kyle, I cant lose them...Thom and Stephen. They're my life, them and Dan."  
  
Kyle walked over to the woman and put a tender hand on her shoulder, "They'll be ok. Would you feel better if I called down to the hospital to see if your son has arrived yet?" Kara nodded and Kyle smiled, "No problem, Just give me a sec." Kara sighed as Kyle walked out into the kitchen. Kara was terribly exhausted. She drifted back over to the couch and sat down. She ran her hands through her wavy reddish blonde hair and closed her eyes.  
  
Kara started massaging her temples and tried to relax. Stephen would be ok, he would get help from the doctors and everything would be fine. She tried to force hopeful thoughts into her mind but the image of Stephen's bluish purple face kept coming back. Her baby had needed her and she could do nothing. All she had been able to do was watch as they loaded his frail little body onto that ambulance.  
  
Kyle was out in the kitchen on his cell phone, "Yes I need to find out if an ambulance-no, two ambulances arrived yet. Yes, one was carrying a small child and the other was carrying a dangerous criminal. Uh huh, what! Lost contact? When? Yes I know the storm was bad but how-my god...yes thank you." Kyle turned off his phone and immediately pulled his radio off his belt.  
  
He turned it on and frantically spoke, "Attention units! Guys listen, the hospital lost contact with the ambulances holding the Doyle kid and Myers almost a half hour ago! The storm was bad but-I need a couple units to get over back track and search the area from here to Haddonfield Memorial. We have to find those ambulances, if they broke down or worse...just find them!" Kyle set his radio back on his belt and turned around to see Kara standing in the kitchen entrance staring at him in shock.  
  
Her expression was strange, she looked as if she couldn't understand what was happening. Kyle ran over to her and tried to explain, "How long have you been there? It's alright, we'll find your son I prom-"Kara cut him off, "I have to, uh, I have to see my son." Kyle nodded and continued, "We'll find him don't worry." Kara's eyes were glazed like she'd finally lost it. She slowly turned around and walked over to the staircase in an almost dreamlike trance. Kyle shook his head as he watched the poor woman walk up the stairs.  
  
Thom and Mark arrived at the front entrance of the Smith's Grove Sanitarium complex. Thom took a deep breath and closed his eyes. This was his moment of truth. It was the beginning of the end. He thought about everything that had led up to this moment in his life, watching Laurie strode fight off the boogeyman in his first attack so many years ago. Saving Kara and the children almost ten years before. Thom opened his eyes and reached up to open the glass door. This was it, his final confrontation with Michael. He'd kill that monster...or die trying. Thom mustered up all his courage and turned the door handle.  
  
"Shit." Thom blurted out. Mark leaned in and questioned, "What? What is it?" Thom turned and looked at Mark, "Damn thing's locked."  
  
Mark was caught off guard and Thom grabbed his rifle and aimed it at the door. Mark quickly grabbed the rifle and struggled to get it away from Thom, "No way Doyle, your not going to blast that door open, not on my watch, don't even think about it!" Mark yanked the rifle away from Thom and Thom held his hands up in surrender, "Alright Mark, we'll do it your way but we gotta get in one way or another."  
  
Sheriff Grayson looked around the area and began walking along the side of the building. Thom curiously followed. They traveled briskly down to the back end of the building and Mark saw a rusty back door surrounded by a metal gate. The gate was loose at the hinge and creaked when Mark pushed it open. They walked through the gate and stopped at the back door.  
  
Thom looked down at the metal handles chained shut and smirked, "Now what." Mark looked at Thom and grumbled to himself. He lifted his rifle up and bashed the handle down on the chains a few times until they broke loose. Thom crossed his arms and smiled, "So how's that better then my way?" Mark grabbed the door handle and pulled it open, "Shut up Doyle..." The two men slowly entered the darkest end of the Smith's Grove facility.  
  
Meanwhile  
  
Dan opened his closet door and looked down at the hamper. He opened it and found his pajamas, which he'd planned on washing earlier. He pulled them out and slowly removed his long sleeved black shirt. He dropped the dirty blood stained shirt in the hamper and shivered.  
  
Dan looked over his shoulder at the mirror behind him and saw his naked back. His muscles had developed nicely over his milky white skin. He noticed the series of scars old and new covering his back and slowly turned away. He slipped on his white pajama t-shirt and proceeded to change into his flannel pajama pants.  
  
Kara floated up the stairs in a numbing haze. It felt as if her feet weren't even touching the ground. Kara wasn't even in her body, she was drifting somewhere in space. She hadn't heard what Officer Henderson had said. The ambulances were fine. Stephen was fine. Everything was fine.  
  
Tonight had just been a bad dream, a very long painful nightmare. Soon Kara would wake up to find Thom snoring in his recliner with late night Jay Leno on the TV. Stephen would be asleep in his room surrounded by his stuffed animals and action figures. Dan would be sleeping in his Goth bedroom with his headphones still on in his ears. Kara would have to; as she'd done routinely for months; remove his headphones and turn off his stereo.  
  
No, nothing had gone wrong tonight. No one had died; her cats would be wandering around the kitchen, enjoying their nocturnal activities while the family slept. Diane would come over tomorrow for coffee and gossip as usual. Miles would come over after school to study with Dan...not study but most likely smoke. Kara needed to have a talk with Dan about that, he thought she didn't know his little habit but she did. Tomorrow, everything would return to normal and she would continue living her simple modern Partridge family existence.  
  
Kara was lost in her endless denial as she reached the top of the stairs. Then she saw the bloody mess on the attic door, the shattered glass and the yellow tape and her senses came back with a vengeance to slap her in the face the way her father had always done. Kara could literally feel the sting on her face as her reality came back to beat the crap out of her.  
  
She felt dizzy. Stephen, Thom, Dan...her family. What was wrong with everything? How could everything go so horribly wrong? What had she done to let this happen to her family? Kara tried to regain focus when Officer Gibbs turned from his post outside Dan's room and noticed the agitated woman. He walked over to her and said, "Miss, are you alright?" He put a hand on her shoulder and that gentle second of human contact was all it took to remind Kara of all the horror that had occurred tonight. It all came surging into her mind with the touch of the middle aged man's fingers.  
  
Kara jumped back in fright, screaming like someone had just stabbed her in the leg. She flailed her arms around in blind terror as officer Gibbs tried to help her, "Lady! It's all right! Henderson, can you come up her!?" Henderson came racing up the stairs and grabbed Kara from behind. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist to subdue her and she collapsed into a sobbing pile in his arms.  
  
Kara coughed and choked on her screams of anguish. Gibbs knelt down to help and Henderson stopped him by saying, "No, I got it. Go down stairs and get some water, and some aspirin if there's any." Gibbs nodded and headed down the stairs. Kara's sobs continued and Henderson sat there on the ground with the broken woman in his lap letting all the pain out.  
  
Dan had been listening at his bedroom door while all this occurred. He'd heard his mother's screams and opened his door just a crack to watch as the officers tried to calm her down. Dan used the opportunity while the three adults were otherwise occupied.  
  
He slowly crept out of his bedroom and walked down to the other end of the hallway where he slid into the bathroom and slowly closed and locked the door. He blocked out the sound of his mother's sobs as he opened the medicine cabinet. The lights were off but the moon outside cast a pale blue light into the bathroom through the nearby window. Dan frantically searched the contents of the medicine cabinet, desperately looking for his instrument of relief. He found it, his step dad's razor. Dan yanked it out of the cabinet and flicked it open. He looked down at his arms and then began carving into them...  
  
Smith's Grove Warren County Sanitarium  
  
Mark and Thom were walking blindly down a musky wet tunnel. Mark flicked on his flashlight and handed it to Thom. Thom shined it on the ancient walls of the fifty some year old building. "We need to get to the main complex. The offices, that's where Wynn will be and probably John." Mark looked around the hallway; there were doors on each side of them, all numbered with an ID.  
  
Mark stuck an arm out in front of Thom to stop him. He signaled for Thom to shine the light on the door next to them. Mark saw a sliding window on the door and slid the cover open. He peered in and squinted, "I think, I think they're cells." Thom looked around the area, at the endless row of similar doors, "Oh god, where in the patient wing." Mark slid the window shut and started heading further down the hallway. He turned back to look at Thom, "Are you coming?" Thom followed and said, "I don't understand. This is the patient's wing but it's empty. Where are all the patients?"  
  
Lindsay was quietly sobbing in the corner of her cell. This wasn't happening. How could she have been so naïve? She had trusted Terrence so easily. When she had finished school, he had personally sought her out and offered her a position at Smith's Grove. Eventually, he pulled a few strings and got her promoted, and transferred to Ridgemont psychiatric facility. She had been so swept up in her career that she'd lost sight of her boss's true intentions.  
  
As she'd done background checks on everyone she had discovered the Doyle's case against Smith's Grove but she'd dismissed it due partially to Wynn's smooth way of talking. So where had her ego and career gotten her? Locked up in a mental house by her boss. How long would she be trapped in here surrounded by the music of madness. What if Wynn just decided to leave her here for the rest of her life? Lindsay knew the connections he had, Wynn could easily cover up her disappearance and know one would ever bother to ask, "what ever happened to Lindsay Wallace?"  
  
Thom and Mark were walking down the murky depths of hell when Thom suddenly stopped, "Do you here that?" Mark stopped and said, "Hear what?" Thom lifted a finger, "Shh, listen." Mark was quiet and the two men listened in the darkness. The faint sound of music began filling their ears.  
  
Mark looked confused, "It sounds like music." Thom started walking forward, quickly peeking into each and every cell door. Mark followed and asked, "Where the hell is it coming from?" Thom picked up his pace and his hesitant walk turned into a desperate run. Thom reached the end of the hall and saw a door which had been labeled, "Lower Basement" Thom turned to Mark, "It's coming from down there."  
  
Mark walked over to the door and saw the lock, "You need a card to get in." Thom rolled his eyes, "Listen, that could be John down there! We need to get in." Mark sighed and took a step back. Thom tried pleading with the sheriff, "Look, I know you're the sheriff and all. You've got to uphold the rules of an officer, never bend the rules blah blah blah it's your duty to maintain the law but guess what? It's also your duty to protect people and right now someone; maybe John; needs your help. We have to help him. Please..." Thom knew the situation he was putting his friend in but desperate times called for desperate measures.  
  
Mark looked at back and forth, first at Thom then at the door. He turned to Thom and said, "You really owe me one here Doyle." Thom smiled, "No problem. Mark turned back to the door and held his rifle up. He aimed it at the security device next to the door and fired. The shot echoed down the hallway and an alarm started going off. Thom became anxious, "Shoot it again!" Mark quickly shot at the locking mechanism twice more and it exploded into pieces of metal that fell to the floor. The alarm stuttered and went out as the locking mechanism fell. Thom ran up to the door and tried to yank it open. "Shit! It's stuck!"  
  
Lindsay had been thinking about how she could try and get out when she heard three loud gunshots. She looked up at the door and heard banging. Loud bangs that echoed into her cell. She began shouting, "Somebody help me! Can you here me? I'm in a cell please!" She started to stand up so she could run over to the door but the ropes held her down. She struggled in vain to break free and continued to scream in hopes that whom ever was causing the noise would come to her rescue.  
  
Thom and Mark were banging on the door and trying to yank it open. They finally succeeded and the heavy metal door broke free and opened. They ran through and found a flight of stairs, which they briskly traveled down. Thom could here someone banging on a metal door and followed the sound, "Here!" he shouted to Mark as he ran down to the door.  
  
Mark and Thom could here the sounds of a woman screaming for help. Thom found another door at the end of the hall and practically ran into it. Mark followed close behind, "Who is it!" he shouted but Thom was too busy pounding on the door. He turned to Mark and grabbed the rifle out of his hands. The quiet music was much louder now and Thom knew it was emanating from this cell. He started bashing the door handle with the rifle handle until it broke off. Thom kicked the door in and ran inside.  
  
Lindsay was screaming for help when the cell door was kicked open. To her relief and surprise, Thom came rushing in. He stopped in his tracks and nearly tripped over himself when he saw her, "Lindsay? What the hell are you doing here! You're supposed to be with Stephen!" Thom ran over to her and knelt down at her side.  
  
Lindsay had tears in her eyes and tried to explain, "Oh Thom, I'm so sorry. I don't know what happened. We were in the ambulance and then the other vehicle chased us, and then we crashed. There was so much noise, the others, the medics...they're all dead. They're all dead! And Stephen, he stopped breathing but I revived him but then he came and we had to run! Stephen couldn't keep up so I had to carry him and I was so tired and I wasn't sure what to do so I just kept running. I just ran and didn't think because I had to protect Stephen. Oh god, Michael was coming but I had to protect Stephen from his da-"  
  
Lindsay stopped speaking suddenly and raised her head from her shaking hands to look at Thom. He was struggling to understand her ramblings but obviously desperate to know everything that had happened. He was worried about his son. His son, Lindsay thought, wasn't actually his. Lindsay couldn't bear to tell Thom, it couldn't be true. Michael couldn't be Stephen's father. Could he?  
  
Mark was standing in the doorway watching as Lindsay broke down next to Thom. Thom pulled a jack knife out of his back pocket and started cutting the ropes around Lindsay's wrists and ankles. Lindsay had grown quiet as Thom tried to help her, "Linz...look at me. Where's Stephen. How did you end up here like this?"  
  
Lindsay looked at Thom and her lips quivered. She was trying not to cry as she spoke, "I was trying to save Stephen when a helicopter landing in front of us. They...I think they shocked me. I don't remember, everything went black and then I woke up in here. God, Thom...they took Stephen!" Thom's eyes widened and for the first time since they were little kids, Lindsay saw the fear surfacing under them.  
  
Lindsay noticed that Thom had grown still, like he was in shock. She looked down at his hands, which had stopped crying to pry the ropes apart. The hand that was holding his knife was shaking slightly. Lindsay slowly started to free herself, she began untangling the ties and tossing them to the ground. Lindsay slowly stood up, careful of her balance.  
  
Mark raced to her aid when he noticed her dizzy composure. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and helped her walk a few steps. Thom continued to sit quietly on the hard cement floor. The Chordettes' music continued to play in the background as Thom felt a warm tear drip down his cheek.  
  
Lindsay looked back at Thom and left Mark's side. She walked up behind him and knelt down. She put both her hands on his shoulders and stared at him until he made eye contact with her. She spoke soothingly yet with determination, "We'll get him back Thom but I need you to get up and fight. You have to fight to get him back." Thom's fragile expression hardened.  
  
Lindsay wiped the tear from his face as he slowly regained his strong exterior. Lindsay stood up and looked down at Thom. She extended her arm for him and he reached for it. Lindsay helped Thom up and said, "It'll be ok." Thom looked around the room for the first time and finally noticed the gruesome décor. He walked up to the shrine and examined it.  
  
Lindsay realized that Thom would eventually figure it out but tried to stop him, "Thom, don't..." Thom continued reading the names on the death list and felt his heart stop momentarily as he read the final name on the list of Michael's kin. "Stephen Myers. Myers..." Thom's eye twitched. How dare that bastard associate its name with his son? Stephen may have been Jamie's child, but he was Kara and his son.  
  
Thom tightened his fists and in a fit of protective anger, smashed his fist against the mural. The sound of flesh against stone echoed through out the room as dust slowly lifted from the wall. Thom pulled his now bloody and most likely broken hand back and took several deep breaths.  
  
Mark walked over to Thom and examined his hand, "Feel better?" he asked and Thom nodded his head. He turned back to the blood shrine and spoke with venom lacing his every word, "I'm not letting that fucker take my son." Lindsay's eye twitched as the music restarted again. She had grown quite tired of that song and feared she'd go insane if she had to sit through it again.  
  
She walked into the back of the cell and found the dusty record player where the song was coming from. She took her finger and flicked the needle aside. The music snapped and popped and started to repeat the same phrase over and over, "bring me a dream...bring me a dream...bring me a dream...bring me-"  
  
Lindsay listened to the hiccupping record as the phrase regurgitated itself. She thought she heard something lying beneath the static of the old classic. She lifted the needle up and set it back in its proper place. The song continued but Lindsay placed her finger down on the record itself so stop it from continuing.  
  
The sound buzzed and then reversed as she slowly started to push the record the opposite direction. "meard a em nrib namdnas restim nees reve vi tath tsetuc eth mih kame-"Lindsay contorted her face in curious disgust as the reversed song became a warped nightmare. The once upbeat melody became an entropy laden foreign language.  
  
Lindsay was listening to the sound that was formerly music when she thought she heard a second voice. "revoc dna sesr kill spil ot mih vig-" Lindsay stopped the record and thought a second. She pulled the record forward and started the reversing process again. "Two lips like roses and clover...revolc dna sesor kill spil ot mi-"Lindsay stopped the record once more and pulled it back just a little, "lips like roses...sesor kill spil-"Lindsay stopped the record with her finger and adjusted the volume, then she pulled it back ever so slowly, "ike...kill.. "Lindsay stopped the record and it continued to play like normal.  
  
A frightening idea popped into her head. She turned back to Mark and Thom who was clutching his hand, "You guys, come here." They walked over to her and she reversed the record again, "Listen closely." The record warped and began to send a different message, "sesor kill spil ot mih vig. Nees reve vi tath kill your family tsetuc eth mih kame-"  
  
Lindsay stopped the record and looked at the men, "There. Did you hear it?" Mark shook his head in confusion, "Just sounded like a bunch a babbling." Lindsay looked at Thom who had been listening very intently. He started to nod his head and said, "I think so, play it again Linz." Lindsay lifted her finger and the song went back to normal then she pushed her finger down on it and pushed it backwards even slower than the first time, "sesor kill spil ot mih vig..."  
  
Thom repeated the strange lyrics, "Sesor kill spil ot? Wait a minute...kill. Oh my god, it said kill!" Lindsay nodded in agreement as the song continued, "nees reve vi tath kill your family tsetuc eth mih kame..." Lindsay looked at Thom whose eyes had widened slightly as he made the horrific realization. He was about to say the words but she read his mind and said them for him, "Kill your family."  
  
Thom looked at the record and then looked at the room around him. Mark lifted his eyebrow, "So what the hell does that mean?" Thom stepped back over to the blood mural and looked at Lindsay, "Myers was born in 1957 right? Play that song again, just like normal." Lindsay nodded her head and lifted her finger from the record, which began to play again.  
  
Thom listened to the song and looked back at the wall with the newspaper clippings and pictures, "This song, Mr. Sandman. When was it made?" Lindsay searched around near the record player and found a dusty old album. She picked it up and read, "The Chordettes circa 1958. So, this song came out a year after Myers was born." Thom walked over to the record player and listened to the song play. He narrowed his eyes reached out to stop the record. He pulled the needle off the record and the music stopped.  
  
Thom turned to Mark and Lindsay and folded his arms; "I think they played this song for him as a kid. Did you hear the message hidden in the song? Kill your family. He must have listened to it. He must have!" Mark looked around at the room and became very serious, "I think it's safe to say that this environment is in strict violation of any fucking codes. We're shutting this place down. And I'm personally hauling Terrence Wynn's wrinkly ass into jail. Now come on, we need to find the others." Mark loaded his shotgun and headed out of the decrepit cell.  
  
Lindsay looked at Thom with pleading eyes. Thom tilted his head in curiosity and said, "What. What is it?" Lindsay lowered her eyes. She looked back up at him and said, "Thom. I-I'm sorry I doubted you about Wynn...about everything." Lindsay turned her head away in embarrassment. Thom put a hand on her shoulder and she looked back at him, "It's ok. This has been hard on all of us. Wynn manipulated you just like the rest of us. It's not your fault. Don't listen to John or the others, it's not your fault." Thom said that final statement in a firm voice and Lindsay nodded.  
  
Thom looked back at the blood shrine and saw Stephen's name, "I have to save him." Lindsay bit down on her tongue. She couldn't bear to tell Thom the horrific truth, that Stephen was in fact Michael's son. Lindsay turned away from the shrine and headed out into the dark tunnel the others had entered from. Thom followed and the three left the devil's shelter behind.  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
John struggled with his bindings as he stewed in his chair. Wynn smiled coldly and walked over to the angry young man, "Now if I remove the gag, will you try and keep the un-pleasantries to a minimum. I must tell you that we're underground surrounded by four feet of stone and concrete. No one would hear your screams save for my employees and well, I'm afraid you just don't make a convincing enough case to employ their services." John glared and looked at the men and women in the room. None of them showed an ounce of sympathy or remorse for the predicament John was currently in. Their eyes were all just as cold as stony as Wynn's.  
  
Terrence reached out and removed the gag from John's mouth. John took several deep gasps for air and steadied his breathing. He was quiet for a moment, contemplating his choices. Wynn leaned in close awaiting some kind of crude response. John looked up and instinctively spit in Wynn's face.  
  
A large glob of saliva oozed down the doctor's cheek. He narrowed his eyes in disgust and reached into his coat with a gloved hand. He pulled a handkerchief out and casually if not politely wiped his face while he spoke, "I see, it seems stubbornness truly does run in your family. Why is it that you people have such an aversion to your own destinies?  
  
John licked his lips and tried to moisten his mouth, which had been dried out from the gag. John took a breath and spoke, "Destiny? My destiny is none of your goddamn business. My destiny was to spend the rest of my life with the girl I love. You have no right to do any of this! You fuck head I swear to god when I get out of here I'm personally gonna take one of those candles and shove it up your-"John was cut off as one of Wynn's lackeys came up to him and punched him in the side of his head. John felt the stinging of the blow and closed his eyes to block out the pain.  
  
Wynn smugly put his handkerchief away and began taking off his gloves while he spoke, "Oh come now Mr. Tate, there really is no reason for this insubordination. Do you really think anything you say or do will stop the inevitable?" John opened his eyes and glared at the older man. He looked over Wynn's shoulder to Stephen and started shouting, "Stephen! Wake up!" Wynn tilted his head and signaled for another cult member to walk over. The man approached John and quickly shoved the gag back into his mouth. John gasped and his shouts were stifled.  
  
Terrence leaned in to stare John right in the face as the other cultist walked away. He glared at John but settled back into a mocking smirk, "John, John, John. You stupid arrogant boy, do you honestly think this scenario you find yourself in has not been meticulously planned? Now, I would like for you to restrain your desire for my bodily harm just long enough for you to hear my...reasoning." John's eyes twitched, he realized there was no use in threatening or reasoning with Wynn. He was a madman. John settled down and waited for Wynn to continue.  
  
Wynn smiled at this change in attitude, he took his gloves and shoved them into his pockets, he then reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the infamous butcher's knife still sealed in the plastic bag. John watched curiously as Wynn backed away casually. Wynn walked over to the wall where the corpses where lying. John watched in horror as Wynn pulled the knife from the plastic bag and walked over to Sara's body. Wynn looked down at the woman's lifeless body and smiled, "Such a pretty girl." He knelt down and reached for her face with his free hand.  
  
Wynn pulled her head up in his grasp and leaned in to kiss her dead lips. John started shaking with rage; he tried once more with all his might to break free. His screams of anger where trapped in his throat by that damned gag. Wynn pulled back from his kiss and brought the knife up to Sara's throat. John muffled a scream as Wynn slid the knife across Sara's broken neck. Blood poured from the wound and dripped all over the knife. Wynn felt the crimson liquid pool in his hand and turned back to John.  
  
Wynn walked up to John. He took the knife into his other hand and brought the bloody hand up to John's forehead. He ran his dripping thumb across John's forehead, smearing Sara's blood on the man like some bizarre christening. John gagged at the putrid stench. He closed his eyes to keep the blood from running into them.  
  
Terrence whispered as he drew his thumb away from John's forehead, "The blood of your kin runs through you my son. Tonight ends the era of the Myers clan and starts the dawn of a new era." John sneered in disgust at the ramblings of this psychotic priest.  
  
Wynn turned and walked across the room over to where Stephen was sitting still unconscious. Terrence similarly ran his thumb across the boy's forehead smearing the blood. Stephen slowly awoke at the sensation on his head. He opened his eyes and they immediately widened as he realized what was going on.  
  
Where had Lindsay gone? Why was he strapped into this chair? What had that man just put on his forehead, it smelled funny. These thoughts raced through Stephen's mind as he frantically tried to find his voice. Finally, Stephen caught sight of the movement behind Wynn's shoulder. He saw John; bloody and bruised; trying with every ounce of strength he had to squirm in his chair.  
  
Stephen grew increasingly nervous as he saw John tied down the same way he himself was. He grew quite afraid when he saw the long bloodstained knife in Wynn's hand. Stephen started crying. His sobs soon turned into cries for help. Wynn frowned and signaled for a cult member to silence the little boy. A man in a black hood hastily came up to Stephen and proceeded to quite viciously tie a cloth around the boys' head. The cloth cut off Stephen's pleas for mercy as he was similarly gagged.  
  
Stephen continued to flail in his chair, managing to almost tip himself over and out of his confines. Wynn grew impatient with the child's whimpering. He walked up to Stephen and fiercely slapped the boy across the face. Stephen screamed in pain and continued to sob. Wynn drew his hand back again but Stephen saw this and cringed. He forced the sobs to quietly submerge deep into his gnawing stomach and prayed he could retain the silence. Wynn lowered his hand and smiled, "There now, that wasn't so hard child."  
  
Wynn smiled and turned around. He walked back into the center of the coven like fortress. Stephen quietly sobbed and stared at John with pleading eyes. It pained John tremendously to not be able to help this poor child. No child should ever have to be in a situation like this. John tried conveying calming emotions to the distraught boy. He was trying to use his facial expressions to let Stephen know it would be all right.  
  
Wynn walked up to his hand crafted black altar and set the bloody knife down on it. He looked past the altar at the dozen or so black clad cult members. All of them were prominent figures in the city. The district attorney, the head of the city council, the police chief, people who had been given the duty of protecting the city were responsible for instigating and then covering up several of the country's most brutal mass murders on record. They had sat back in their comfy chairs and allowed; if not driven; a vessel of pure evil to terrorize their town.  
  
Dr. Terrence Wynn; friend and colleague of thirty-three years to the late Dr. Samuel Loomis, boss and mentor to the once naïve and impressionable Dr. Lindsay Wallace; stood at his black alter and stared across the massive candle lit room. He removed his black hat and began addressing his followers with somewhat of a Hitler complexion, "Brothers and sisters, tonight is the night we have prepared for. For forty-one years we have nurtured and watched over our vessel. Michael Myers is a force of nature that we have come to control. As in many wars, there are always casualties but in this one, the victims are not innocent. Our forefathers vowed centuries ago to punish the family who cursed this town with their vagrant ways. We planted the seed to their own destruction in their own family. One by one, we have made sure to wipe out the entire Myers clan. Now it is time to begin anew, we must reap the rewards of this cleansing. Tonight is the end of Michael's reign, and the beginning of our next phase."  
  
John had been struggling to break free while Wynn was rambling on; he'd managed to spit the gag out and slowly turned to look behind him. He was searching for anything that might be implemented for his escape when he saw two men in black suites approach him. John looked up in surprise as the men grabbed him by the shoulders and held him down in his chair. John looked at Stephen who was wide eyed with horror. John began shouting, "Aren't any of you freaks going to help me! Can't you see Wynn has manipulated all of you! You goddamn Satanists! You'll burn in hell for what you've done!"  
  
One of the suites punched John square in the face. Blood started pouring from his nose as he continued to struggle. Dr. Wynn turned from his alter and walked towards John with his hands held high, "Now is the time to relinquish the thrown from one vessel and bestow our mighty powers on another." John glared at Wynn and spat some blood on the older man's neatly pressed suite, "You're fucking sick man."  
  
Wynn looked down at John as the other cult members approached from behind the altar. John could see their faces as they removed their hoods. He recognized several from around town; one was an officer on Grayson's force! Was Mark a member of this cult too? One of the members approached Wynn and handed him a gas canister. Wynn took it and looked at John with a grim expression, "You and the boy are the last. We try not to intervene often but in the past we've learned that Michael just isn't always up to certain tasks. Wynn started pouring gasoline on John who coughed and screamed in anger.  
  
Wynn began smiling as he drenched the young man, "You see, my ancestors believed that fire rituals were a form of premonition. Burning men and women alive allowed them to see omens of the future. Now we're not really into all that black magic bullshit but it does serve as a poetic way to dispose of you. Such a fiery heart you have Mr. Tate now let the fire consume you!" John screamed in horror as Wynn stepped back and reached for a candle. Wynn looked over at Stephen and said, "Let this be a lesson to you child on how we deal with rebellion. We'll save you for Michael, but your uncle I'm afraid won't be so lucky."  
  
At the same moment John was being prepared for his ceremonial burning, Mark, Thom and Lindsay were making their way down a dripping dark hallway. Lindsay was leading the way with her flashlight in hand. She knew these halls fairly well; she'd done several interviews with incarcerated patients down here in the past. Thom and Sheriff Grayson were close behind her as she raced through corridors and down empty hallways.  
  
They soon reached a wall with a metal door that read ' RESTRICTED ACCESS'. Lindsay reached into her pocket and pulled out a key card. She swiped the card through the lock and the door unlocked. Lindsay turned and looked at the two men behind her, "I've never been down here. In fact I'm not supposed to be down here at all but I hacked into the employee database earlier and changed my security clearance." Thom smiled and said, "Clever girl." Lindsay opened the door to reveal a long stony staircase that had several torches mounted on the rocky walls. Lindsay started walking down the staircase with Thom and Mark right behind.  
  
Thom, Mark and Lindsay didn't realize it at the time but they were about to confront the ultimate evil and begin a battle that would change this town forever.  
  
TBC  
  
Author's not: WOW! What an amazing chapter that was to write. I'm so excited to finish this story. Thanks for all the feedback and keep it coming! 


	19. Beyond Hell

WARNING This chapter contains disturbing and violent imagery of a graphic nature. If you are not 18, maybe you shouldn't be reading this chapter. I don't own any of the Halloween characters (obviously) except the ones I created specifically for this story. I would also like to add that I do not own the lyrics to the song 'Down With The Sickness' by Disturbed. I am only using the lyrics to facilitate the plot.  
  
Chapter 19: Beyond Hell  
  
Ridgemont Sanitarium October 30, 1988  
  
"I'd assumed Dr. Loomis would be here. Michael Myers is still his patient." The Smith's Grove attendant lifted an eyebrow as he spoke to the good doctor. Dr. Edward Hoffman was signing several release forms. He smugly replied, "If Loomis read memos he'd be here. Fortunately his position is more ceremonial than medical and with Myers gone, my hope is that he'll either transfer, retire...or die." Hoffman tore the form off his clip board and handed it to the medical attendant. The other attendant, the woman, had finished prepping Myers and looked up at the two gentlemen in the next room, "I'll right, let's move him."  
  
The two attendants moved the comatose bogeyman on the stretcher outside into the pouring rain. It was a cold night and Dr. Hoffman could see his breath as he followed close behind, his jacket flapping in the wind. The two attendants were assisted by the two ambulance drivers who hopped out of the trunk of the vehicle. The male attendant spoke to one of the drivers, "Watch it." The driver took the back end of Myers' stretcher and turned it towards the ambulance. The other driver looked at the woman and took Myers' fluid bag, "I got this."  
  
Hoffman watched as the four of them loaded Michael into the ambulance, "I can safely say that Michael Myers is now in your hands." The male attendant looked at Hoffman with a smile and said, "Yeah well I guess you're happy to see him go." Hoffman nodded as the stretcher was buckled into place inside the ambulance. The woman hopped into the back of the ambulance as she said, "Locked and loaded." The drivers headed to the front of the vehicle while the male attendant said, "Now let's roll." As he shut the back doors. The attendant turned back to Dr. Hoffman as the heavy rain drenched them both, "Night Doc." Dr. Hoffman smiled and replied, "Drive carefully." The attendant nodded and headed into the vehicle.  
  
Dr. Hoffman walked forward and looked down into the ambulance through the door's window. He saw that comatose body lying there ever so still. Hoffman knew what was going to happen, he knew exactly what was about to take place. He gave a subtle nod to the patient before turning around and heading back into the sanctuary of the hospital. Hoffman knew what he had released upon the world. He was just doing his job though, it was out of his hands. Whatever transpired in Haddonfield tomorrow night would have nothing to do with him. Hoffman turned his head back and looked over his shoulder. He watched the ambulance drive away and eventually disappear into the night. Whatever happened in that town would be out of his hands...those poor bastards.  
  
October 31st, 2004 Haddonfield, IL  
  
"I'll right, let's get the tows out here to drench the lake." The tall strong black deputy signaled for a group of troopers to meet him at the lake's shore. He turned around and looked at the mangled pile of metal which used to be an ambulance and sighed, "God damn..." He turned back and started walking towards dry land. His boots squished in mud and his legs splashed through the murky water as he passed several other officers in the lake. The deputy climbed onto the grass and walked over to another officer, "Any word yet from Grayson?" The officer shook his head, "Fraid not officer Ford, but we did contact the hospital to tell them we located the missing ambulances."  
  
Jared Ford patted his fellow officer's shoulder and turned to face a crew of busy policemen, "All right listen up people. I know it's been a long night for everyone but it's not over yet. I want as many men as we can spare out in the woods looking for any survivors. Tell the divers to double up and take turn searching the lake. And somebody please contact the Sheriff or Deputy Henderson. Let's move people!" The other officers quickened their pace as they worked.  
  
As the chief deputy in charge of the scene, Ford had been at the hospital along with everyone else when they'd gotten a call from a patrolman just outside of Mill Creek. Apparently Sheriff Grayson had given the order for several squads to head over to Smith's Grove while Henderson had requested the units at the Doyle residence to track down the ambulances carrying Stephen Doyle and Michael Myers. Well, they found the vehicles but the only people they'd found so far were the paramedic's bodies.  
  
So now there was a group of cops driving to Smith's Grove, and the rest had gathered at the Mill Creek Bridge, or more precisely, just beneath it. The police force was spread so thin right now that the station was damn near empty. Jared sighed and ran his hands over his face. He took off his deputy hat and rubbed his bald head.  
  
A policeman nearby opened a flare and shouted, "Over here!" Officer Ford put his hat back on and ran over to the other police man along with about three other officers. They gathered around the shore line as a diver emerged from the black water. He dragged a body with him as he waded through the mud and grass. The officers backed up to give the diver some room as he lay the body down. Ford took out his flashlight and flashed it on the body. He flinched and said, "It's another paramedic, looks like he's been through a blender."  
  
The large black man turned off his flashlight and looked at his fellow officers, "Let's bag him." He walked away from the group and headed over to a deputy who was just getting off his radio. He was standing next to his squad car, bathed in red and blue light. Ford looked at him and said, "Please tell me that was the sheriff you were just talking to."  
  
The deputy shook his head and replied, "No sir, that was the Hospital. They just notified me that the morgue was broken into." Jared raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?" The young deputy cleared his throat, "Yes sir, The morgue was broken into and several bodies were removed. They're um...missing."  
  
Jared looked around at the chaos. A crane was being used to pull the first crashed ambulance out of the lake while a team of men were examining the other crashed vehicle and the bodies surrounding it. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples then asked, "Ok, so how many bodies do we have so far?" The young deputy answered, "Well five bodies were stolen from the morgue sir and I-"  
  
Jared interrupted him, "How many bodies have we found her deputy..." The young man wiped the sweat from his brow, "Oh, I see. Well, so far we've found six bodies. The three medics from that ambulance over there." The young man pointed to the crushed ambulance at the foot of the great tree. Several body bags were being carried away. The officers were trying to turn the vehicle over to get at another body underneath. The young officer continued, "We're drenching the lake still for the others. We found two so far and then there's the body up on the freeway."  
  
Officer Ford turned and walked away saying, "Nice work deputy, keep it up." He pulled out a cigarette and lit it up. He sat down on the hood of one of the squad cars and examined the area.  
  
"There he is! Hurry up so we can get a statement." Jared looked up and immediately dropped his cigarette and stomped it, "Jesus Christ...." He grumbled and stood up and adjusted his hat and walked over to the bustling group of reporters approaching the scene.  
  
"This is a crime scene folks You're gonna have to leave!" The tough black deputy was trying to keep his cool but was beginning to get frustrated. For the past couple of hours he and the rest of the towns police force had been running from place to place. First the high school, then the Doyle residence, now here.  
  
One of the reporters; a pretty woman with curly blonde hair stepped forward with her microphone aimed at the deputy, "Officer Ford, is it true that Michael Myers is in Haddonfield again to wreak havoc?" She snapped her finger and the camera man zoomed in on Officer Jared Ford who looked at the camera in surprise and then looked back behind him at the police activity, "Well, I, uh. The police are not ready to make an official statement at this time." He started walking through the crowd in order to turn their attention away from the crime scene.  
  
"Officer Ford! Can you give us any information on the investigation tonight? What can you tell us about Myers, is he still at large? Have there been casualties?" The reported was relentless in her questioning and Jared gave the same response each time, "No comment at this time." Eventually Deputy Ford lifted his hands to silence the bustling crowd and said, "Look, this is an ongoing investigation of a criminal nature. I cannot release any details at this time. As soon as I get more information I will let you know but from now I need you to clear the area. This is a crime scene!"  
  
A tall reporter wearing glasses asked, "Officer, where is Sheriff Grayson? Can he give us a statement?" Officer Ford quickly replied, "Sheriff Grayson is unavailable at this time. No more questions please." He turned and walked away from the onslaught of questions. Jared walked past several officers and shouted, "Get those reporters outta here! And get a hold of Grayson!" Ford took a deep breath and headed back into the mass of cops, body bags and bed and blue lights.  
  
Doyle Residence  
  
Kara was sitting at the kitchen table sipping a mug of hot cocoa. Officer Kyle Henderson sat across from her on the other end of the table. He was holding his mug and quietly sipped it. He eyes her cautiously, after her last breakdown he wanted to be careful of what he said. They sat there quietly drinking their cocoa, carefully avoiding the red stains near the back wall. The heavy rain could be heard perfectly from the opening where the back door used to be. The smell of death was still there but was slowly being washed away by the scent of chocolate.  
  
Kara looked up above Kyle and focused on the clock. "It's after eleven..." Kyle turned around and looked at the clock, "How bout that." He turned back to Kara and cleared his throat, "Why don't I drop you and Dan off at a motel or something. You guys shouldn't spend the night here. I mean, the place is a wreck and well..." He looked at the hole in their kitchen wall. Kara looked at it and blinked. She yawned as if the sight of the carnage wasn't even a surprise anymore. Kara turned back to her mug and stared vacantly into it.  
  
"No, I can't leave. I need to be here when Thom and Stephen get back. And Dan, he's probably already asleep. I can't wake him now..." her voice trailed off as she ran her finger around the rim of the mug. Kyle sighed and looked at his watch.  
  
Suddenly his radio went off and they both jumped in surprise. Kyle got out of his seat and walked into the living room as he lifted his radio from his belt, "Yeah, Henderson, over." A stressed voice replied, "Henderson, this is Ford. We've found the two ambulances, they, god damn. They're crunched up pretty bad, looks like they lost the road in the storm and drove right off the bridge."  
  
Kyle's eyes widened and he turned pale. He quickly whirled around to find Kara still sitting at the kitchen table drinking her cocoa. Had she heard that? He hoped she hadn't, it was a shock he wasn't sure the woman could handle.  
  
Kyle replied on the radio, "Ok, We're gonna handle this nice and quiet. No press, no publicity got it?" Ford responded, "Yeah I already had to clear a group of reporters. Jesus, they're all over this Kyle. The whole god damned town is spooked. I got calls coming in at the station, everybody and their uncle is 'positive' they've seen Myers tonight!"  
  
Henderson quieted down and replied, "All right, let's keep a lid on it for now. Any word from Sheriff Grayson yet?" Ford answered, "Fraid not. He's at the outskirts of town and in this weather his radio's probably got a weak signal." Henderson kept an eye on Kara as he quietly replied, "Ok, here's the big question. How many bodies at the scene? Did you find the kid or Dr. Wallace, or Myers for god's sakes." Ford replied rather glumly, "Definitely no sign of the kid, all the bodies are adults. We got two females, both paramedics. God, the medics and drivers were slaughtered man. No sign of Myers either."  
  
Henderson took a few breaths. Ok, so this was good, at least there was a chance that Stephen and Wallace were ok, "Ok, keep trying to get a hold of the sheriff. I'm gonna stay here with Gibbs. Keep me informed." Ford replied, "Ok, over and out." Henderson put his radio back on his belt and walked back into the kitchen. He stood there looking awkwardly at Kara. How was he supposed to relay this kind of information to her without her becoming hysterical again.  
  
"They found the ambulances didn't they." Kara had no fluctuation in her tone as she asked the question. It wasn't even a question really, more of a statement as if she already knew the answer.  
  
Henderson's eyes saddened. He quietly, if not meekly replied, "Yes." Kara slowly stood up, still holding her mug of cocoa. Suddenly she threw it hard against the wall. It shattered into pieces of glass and drops of cocoa. Kara didn't cry, she didn't whimper or shake. She just tightened her fists and looked up at Henderson with angry eyes, "Did they find my son?"  
  
Henderson backed up two steps and folded his arms as he shook his head, "No, no they didn't. There was no sign of your son or Dr. Wallace. That's good though, maybe they left and went to get help or-""Did they find Michael?" Kara cut Henderson of with her hardened question. Henderson rubbed the back of his head, he didn't want to say. Kara shouted at him, "Did they find him God Damn it!" Henderson held his hands up in defense, "No, they didn't find him either."  
  
Kara closed her eyes and walked out of the Kitchen. She stormed through the living room and out the front door. Kara walked out into the front yard, into the cold rain and said, "Doyle, you'd better find my baby." Kara looked up into the cold night sky and ran her hands through her dampening reddish blonde hair. Her medium length sunny locks of hair fell limp and wet in her face as she took several deep breaths.  
  
Henderson was back in the house. He had gone upstairs and filled Gibbs in on the situation. He was walking down the stairs with the lanky officer when Kara came back into the house. She closed the front door with a dripping hand and waited for the two men to reach the ground floor before she took a few steps up the stairs. She looked at the two officers and said, "I'm going to take a shower and change clothes." She didn't wait for either men to reply before walking the rest of the way upstairs. Gibbs was about to head up after her but Henderson held his hand out, "No, let her go. She needs the alone time. We can stay down here."  
  
Kara walked up the stairs and stopped at Dan's room. She leaned up against it and knocked, "Dan, are you awake? I'm going to take a shower, let me know if you need anything ok?" She bit her lip when no response came. She backed up and looked at the bottom of his door, there was no light coming from the other side.  
  
Kara turned around and headed the rest of the way down the hallway into the bathroom. She turned on the light and closed the door behind her. She locked the door for good measure and then slipped her damp blouse and pants off. She looked up at her reflection in the mirror. She stared at her wet figure. Her bra and panties were clinging to her body like unwelcome visitors. She quickly discarded them and grabbed a towel out of the linen closet.  
  
She set the towel down on the sink counter and her gaze slowly traveled to the sink itself. Her eyes widened slightly as she placed her fingers in the sink. Several drops of blood had pooled in the sink and Kara had no doubt in her mind who they were from. Dan. He must have been tending to his cuts and bruises Kara thought as she turned on the faucet and washed away the blood.  
  
Kara finished cleaning the sink and turned the faucet off. She walked tenderly into the shower and pulled the shower curtain shut behind her. She turned on the shower faucet and felt the warm streams of water wash over her. She lost herself in the relief and closed her eyes, letting the water cleanse her of the nights torment.  
  
Whilst Kara was washing away her sorrows, Dan was quietly succumbing to his. The seventeen year old boy lie on his bed staring up at the ceiling. He was blanketed in darkness and the only sound in the room came from his mouth as air slipped in and out of him. His arms were sliced and bloody but he didn't care. Pain was irrelevant. His open wounds were only a means to relief the true anguish which lie deep within him. This cancer was eating him from the inside, hollowing out his organs and changing his body into a shell, something for which a truly wicked being may rest within.  
  
Dan turned his head to the right and looked at the radio sitting on his night stand. He reached over and grabbed his headphones and placed them in his ears. Then he attached the ear phones into the radio and pulled out a CD. He placed the CD in the stereo and turned it on. The music flooded his mind as Disturbed's 'Down With The Sickness' played loudly in his ears.  
  
Henderson and Gibbs were downstairs trying to keep busy. Gibbs was pacing back and forward nervously while Kyle sat with his radio speaking to officer Ford, "Make sure the press doesn't find out about what's going on over at Smith's Grove. The last thing sheriff Grayson needs is a bunch of press parading over his investigation."  
  
Kyle set his radio down and looked up at Gibbs, "Leo, would you stop wearing a hole in the floor?" Gibbs stopped and looked up at the ceiling, "You know, he's been in there ever since we got here practically. Wonder what he's doing." Kyle stood up and walked past Leo patting his shoulder with a smirk, "Probably dreaming about his girlfriend."  
  
Leo walked over to the couch and sat down. He took out a cigarette and a lighter. Kyle turned back to Leo just as the lanky man was lighting up. Kyle shook his head and said, "Put that out for god's sake. We're in a private residence." Leo rolled his eyes and put the cigarette out, "Sorry, I smoke when I'm nervous. And right now, I'm pretty fuckin nervous."  
  
Kyle ran a hand through his hair and said, There's nothing to be nervous about." Leo snapped back, "Bullshit there isn't. You saw that school tonight. You saw what those people, those bodies. What he did to them. God, and then Dave and Cole!" Kyle narrowed his eyes and said sternly, "That's enough. We'll have time to grieve later. Right now we have to stay level headed for Kara and Dan." Leo wiped some sweat from his brow and said, "Yeah well I'll feel a whole lot better when this damned night is over."  
  
Meanwhile upstairs  
  
Kara was standing under the shower with her head looking down at the ground. She stared at the drain as the hot array of water jetted onto her neck and back. She felt her whole life spiraling towards the inevitable just as the water was circling the drain. Her medium length blondish red hair dangled in her face as she held her hands against the bathroom wall in front of her.  
  
Kara kept processing what had happened tonight. What the hell had she been thinking letting Dan and Stephen go out! She mentally cursed herself for allowing them to be subjected to such horrors. She thought back nine years to her and her son's first encounter with Myers. They had only met him once but it was enough to drastically change Dan's personality. No longer did the innocent blonde cherub exist, now he had been murdered and replaced with a chronically self mutilating depressed time bomb.  
  
It hadn't even been Michael that had tormented them the most that fateful night nearly a decade ago...but Wynn. Holding Jamie captive, sending Michael to murder Jamie. Sending him after Stephen and Kara's family. Kara had been pushed to the brink of sanity the night she found her parents, brother and best friend slaughtered like sheep. She had found her courage however sitting up in Thom's room after witnessing Beth repeatedly stabbed by Michael. In that moment when she saw her son walking into her house and realized what was awaiting him, Kara instinctively put aside her fears and let her maternal instinct give her the strength to go after him.  
  
Kara thought about what had happened after she and her son had made it back to Thom's house. They had been ambushed by Wynn and his men. Even that sweet old lady Ms. Blankenship had been working for him all along. Kara, in a fit of blind panic, had thrown herself out of the second story window of the boarding house and fallen into unconsciousness.  
  
What she remembered after that had been blurry and to be honest, Kara would be happy to just not remember any of it. She had been taken into some kind of religious church, strapped down and been the victim of some sort of satanic ritual. She remembered Wynn had poured that vile blood down her throat and then manipulated Dan; her own son; into slicing into her flesh.  
  
Kara splashed some warm water onto her face and dismissed the foul memories that plagued her. She thought about her precious Stephen, where was he? Was he alright? God; if there really was one; please bring him back to me. Kara thought about this as she splashed the water into her face. And what about Dan? He had been acting so weird earlier, I mean sure, she expected her son to be in shock. To cry and swear and be angry and afraid, but he had just....stopped. It was like any emotions in him had bled out from his wounds.  
  
Back in Dan's room...  
  
'Can you feel that? Oh shit! Oh ah ah ah ah! Drowning deep in my sea of loathing Broken your servant I kneel, Will you give in to me? It seems what's left of my human side Is slowing changing...in me. Will you give in to me?'  
  
Dan trembled as he lye in his bed. He clenched his hands onto the mattress as the harsh music assaulted him. He closed his eyes tightly and succumbed to the wanton lust to be raped by the melody.  
  
'Looking at my own reflection When it suddenly changes Violently it changes Oh no, there is no turning back now You've woken up the demon...in me.'  
  
Dan's mind's eye was forced open to allow the images to pour into his head. Violent images of death and destruction. The young man broke out in a thin sweat which moistened his quivering body. The blood on his arms slowly oozed onto the mattress as he held the bed down tighter. Dark and twisted pictures flashed in his mind and he couldn't make them go away. Images of rotting corpses. Flashes of a gleaming butcher's knife sinking deep into virgin flesh. Penetrating metal ripping into bodies, crimson pouring from the wounds like paint. The music continued as his mind was warped.  
  
'Get up, come on get down with the sickness Get up, come on get down with the sickness Get up, come on get down with the sickness Open up your hate, and let it flow into me Get up, come on get down with the sickness You mother get up Come on get down with the sickness You fucker get up Come on get down with the sickness Madness is the gift, that has been given to me.'  
  
Dan's breathing increased in speed as he started slightly panting. His feet twitched and his back arched slightly. The visions in his head picked up speed as the music grew to a deadly volume. Grisly images of people; men, women and children alike; being burned at the stake. Horrible portraits of cruelty the like of which Dan had never seen in his most wild of nightmares.  
  
The black eyes of a cold soulless person quickly zooming out to reveal an innocent child dressed in a clown costume. The images flashes and changes to the child now covered in blood and holding a knife up. The images morphs into Michael Myers standing in all of his terrible glory, the knife still poised and dripping with blood.  
  
The image of the blood stained child clown returns and quickly disappears in another flash. The image flashes back and forth between the child Michael and the monster he became. The image is suddenly covered in a red filter as we zoom out from what is discovered to be a puddle of blood. A drop of blood drips into the puddle which causes it to ripple like water. A man in a black coat and hat whose face is blurred to obscurity holds his hands up in might.  
  
'I can see inside you, the sickness is rising Don't try to deny what you feel Will you give in to me? It seems that all that was good has died And is decaying in me Will you give in to me?'  
  
Dan's bloodshot eyes fluttered open and shut like he was having a seizure. The bed began to shake slightly as the boy's body contracted and spasmed. The energy of a most unholy source was coursing through the boy's veins. His blackening heart pumped faster and faster, spreading the hatred through his system like a virus. Electrical charges pulsed through his brain as the images flew past it.  
  
A shadowy figure cloaked in blue fog slowly walking towards the screen. A scream breaks the night. Ravens flying away into the foggy night. The image of a jack-o-lantern laughing at us as the candle within it flickers. A girl with long blonde hair lying dead on her bedroom floor, her naked breasts splattered with blood. Her flower printed panties slowly staining with the freshly spilt blood.  
  
A fast paced image of a staircase, we see through the eyes of a killer as we run down the stair case and out the front door. Another cut, the laughing jack-o-lantern smashing into pieces as it hit's the ground. Pulp flying out of the eyes holes inter cut with blood spurting out of a teenage girls chest as she screams in pain, the spikes she is impaled on churn her insides as the farming equipment hums in the background.  
  
'It seems you're having some trouble In dealing with these changes Living with these changes Oh no, the world is a scary place Now that you've woken up the demon...in me  
  
Open up your hate, and let it flow into me Get up, come on get down with the sickness You mother get up Come on get down with the sickness You fucker get up Come on get down with the sickness Madness is the gift, that has been given to me.'  
  
Dan grunted slowly as his chest pounded. His temples throbbed as his mind was pounded by the nightmarish sights and sounds. Images of a red room filled with people in black cloaks. Millions of red candles flicker as we pull back to see them placed in the shape of the Thorn symbol.  
  
Another image appears of a rotting corpse littered with flies dancing about it. Another image of the man surrounded by blue fog walking towards us, he is closer now and we can just barely see a hint of the white in his face. An image of a woman flying over a high roof along with Myers. He uses her own hand to drive a long butcher's knife into her back. More raven's flying out into the air. Another image of the woman now falling backwards into the darkness below.  
  
'And when I dream And when I dream And when I dream And when I dream! No mommy, Don't do it again I'll be a good boy I'll be a good boy, I promise No mommy don't hit me Oh Ooh! Why did you have to hit me like that mommy? Don't do it! You're hurting me Oh Ooh! Why did you have to be such a bitch?'  
  
Dan let go of the mattress with his hands and slowly tightened them both into fists. He slowly bit down on his lip. His eyes stopped fluttering and clenched tightly shut. Blood slowly started pooling in his mouth as he continued to bite down on his lower lip. Heavy breathing fills the background as we see several quick cuts of tombstones. 'Judith Myers' 'Jamie Lloyd' 'Laurie Strode' 'John Tate' The image of a young boy; Stephen; holding a rose over a gravestone. Another image of a gravestone marked 'Kara Doyle'. An image of a blood red rose falling onto the grass in front of the grave stone.  
  
The image of his mother appeared. She was much younger and knelt down in front of the child form of Dan himself. She hugged him. A knife poised at a fat belly, the image pulls back to reveal a young Dan Strode aiming the sharp implement at his grandfather's gut. The image of the man in black saying "Kill for him"  
  
'Why don't you Why don't you fuck off and die? Why don't you just fuck off and die? Why don't you just leave here and die? Never stick your hand in my face again bitch Fuck you! I don't need this shit You stupid sadistic abusive fucking whore Would you like to see how it feels mommy? Here it comes, get ready to die!'  
  
The blood in Dan's mouth overflowed and dribbled down his chin. His knuckles turned white as his fists tightened even more. The blood in his veins rushed through his body. The images flashing in his mind increased in pace again, becoming a rapidly moving blur of macabre visions. Knives piercing flesh. Skeletons crumbling into dust.  
  
A room engulfed in flames. Kara strapped to an altar. A shadowy figure standing over her clutching a knife in both hands raised above his head. The image clears and is revealed it be Dan himself! Sudden images of loved ones, his mother, his uncle Tim, his grandma Debra and his grandpa John. All mutilated and dead. The images whirl at lightening speed as the finale of the song reaches it's tortuous crescendo.  
  
' Oh ah ah ah ah! Get up, come on get down with the sickness Get up, come on get down with the sickness Get up, come on get down with the sickness Open up your hate, and let it flow into me Get up, come on get down with the sickness You mother get up Come on get down with the sickness You fucker get up Come on get down with the sickness Madness is the gift, that has been given to me.'  
  
The song ended and Dan's back arched. His hips bucked as if he were having an erupting orgasm. His eyes fluttered open as his body fell limp. The room stopped spinning and returned to it's original dark and quiet form as Dan lye there breathing deeply. His body may have been settled into his bed like a body nestled in it's grave, but Daniel Strode was gone. The shell left behind took slow and deep breaths as it gained its strength. His eyes opened just as a flash of lightening illuminated the once pitch black room. Those eyes, those black as coal eyes stared up at the ceiling.  
  
Smith's Grove Sanitarium  
  
Lindsay briskly descended into the deepest regions of the old hospital. Thom and Mark followed close behind. Mark looked at the walls suspiciously, why the hell were there torches lit everywhere? What was this, a castle? He studied the ancient stones which made up the walls in this dark stairwell. Mark had only been to Smith's Grove on several occasions, mainly for publicity during charity benefits that the hospital held. This was a side of the charitable hospital that Mark had never seen, and he didn't like it.  
  
"I investigated the hospital's original schematics and architectural designs. The hospital is built right on top of the sewer system that travels right into Haddonfield. Were standing above nearly a hundred different sewer tunnels which lead into various parts of town." Lindsay spoke as she continued to descend into the heart of darkness. Thom frowned and said, "So that's how he's been able to travel the city so swiftly..."  
  
Mark grew frustrated and said, "Now wait just a minute. If Michael has been using the sewer system then how come no one's ever been able to find him in there?" Lindsay stopped and looked back. She shone her flashlight into Grayson's face and said, "Parts of the sewer system are abandoned and haven't been maintained by workers for decades."  
  
Thom looked at Lindsay and said, "It makes sense. I mean, how else could he have been able to show up anywhere in town over the years with out being spotted." Lindsay stepped down from the stairwell and flashed her light around her surroundings. They had emerged from the stairwell into a large underground cavern. Bricks reached up into the damp and musty roof. Lindsay took out a handkerchief and covered her mouth, "We're in the sewer." She pointed her flashlight outwards and saw the ledge where they were standing on. She saw where the ledge ended and dropped off into the grimy water below.  
  
Thom walked up behind her and said, "So where to now?" Lindsay looked up at the high brick ceiling. She saw the cascades of water pouring down on them. She looked back at the two men and said, "I'm not sure. I think if we continue through those tunnels we should end up right underneath the central offices.  
  
Mark walked past Thom and Lindsay and looked down at the water. He sniffed and made a face then said, "We'll, let's get moving." He adjusted his hat and hoisted his rifle before stepping off the ledge and into the raw sewage below.  
  
Lindsay cringed as she looked down at Mark who was trudging through the slimy grunge. He turned and looked up at them, "Well? What's the hold up?" Thom patted Lindsay on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry Linz, it'll wash off." He jumped down off the ledge into the sewage and walked over to Mark. The two of them looked at Lindsay. Thom smiled and looked down, he was knee high in sewage but at this particular moment he had more important things to worry about than hygiene.  
  
"Lindsay, We need to find John...and Stephen." Thom pleaded with Lindsay and she could see the desperation in his eyes. Lindsay thought about everything Thom's family had been through. She thought about Stephen, how he wasn't even Thom's son and yet he treated him like he was. Lindsay knew Thom would be devastated when he found out who Stephen's real father was.  
  
Lindsay's eyes softened, she sighed and climbed down the ledge into the nasty sewage. She took a deep breath and gagged slightly. She quickly brought the handkerchief up to her mouth and looked at Thom, "Let's move quickly." Thom turned around and nodded to Mark. Mark took a step forward and looked around. It was dark. The kind of darkness where you're not sure whether you're walking into a wall or not. Mark looked back at Lindsay, "A little light please?" Lindsay flashed the light in his face again and he squinted, "Everybody keeps doing that to me..."  
  
Lindsay pointed to the center tunnel and the three of them began walking through the water. Lindsay heard a squeaking and looked to her side and screamed. Thom jumped and turned around, "What is it!?" Lindsay used a shaky hand to point at what had freaked her out. Thom looked and rolled his eyes. A rat was swimming around in the water. Thom looked at Lindsay, "Oh big deal. You know, there are hundreds of those down here, we just can't see them because there underwater at this very moment." Lindsay glared at Thom, "That's not funny." Thom smirked and said, "Kinda yeah."  
  
Lindsay grimaced as she noticed the many rodents swimming and crawling around the filth which she herself was knee high in. Mark stopped moving and quickly said, "Dr. Wallace, can you shine that light up there?" He was pointing upwards. Lindsay lifted her flashlight and the beam hit a dirty ledge which led into another tunnel.  
  
Mark started walking over to it. He climbed out of the fecal swamp and up onto the ledge. He looked to the right of the tunnel entrance and noticed several rusty ladder bars leading upwards. He looked up and saw a manhole cover way up in the ceiling. "These bars are corroded, but we might be able to climb up there." He reached for the bar and pulled on it to test it's strength, "It feels strong enough."  
  
Lindsay looked up at the manhole and then turned and started walking further into the abysmal labyrinth. She held her flashlight outward and started down the long dripping tunnel. She strained to see into the darkness but it was too strong. Lindsay looked at Thom and said, "I don't think we should go up to the surface yet. We still haven't traveled far enough to be under the central offices." Thom nodded and looked up at Mark who sighed and jumped back into the slimy sewage, "Alright, but we'd better stick together. It would be way to easy to get lost down here."  
  
Back in the cult lair...  
  
Dr. Wynn held the flickering candle in his hand and stared down at John. John looked up at the elderly man in horror as he prayed for salvation. A man in a black suite suddenly walked into the room. He briskly walked through the crowd of cultists and approached Wynn, Um sir? We have a slight problem." Wynn turned and looked at the young man, his patience wearing thin, "Well what is it?" You man leaned in close to Terrence and quietly spoke in the doctor's ear, "The sheriff and Thom Doyle have broken into the facility. They found Dr. Wallace and the three of them entered the sewer system." Wynn lifted an eyebrow and turned back to John. Wynn looked around the room and ran his free hand over his reddened face to smear the sweat away.  
  
Wynn looked at John and said, "It seems the cavalry has arrived. Come to save the children have they?" He looked down at the candle in his hand and walked back over to the alter and set it down. The cult members began whispering amongst themselves, curious of their master's action. Terrence looked at his faithful members and said, "It seems the lambs have decided to come willingly to the slaughter. We shall not disappoint them."  
  
Wynn looked over at the man in the suite and said, "Go tell the security team to let the patients loose in the facility. Yes...let them wander. Tell them to let our star patient loose as well. Have them escort him down into the sewer. We'll let Michael deal with our guests." Wynn walked over to the altar and picked up the butcher's knife. He handed it to the suite and said, "And give our lad his toy back, you know how he never goes anywhere without it."  
  
The suite quickly disappeared and Wynn walked back over to John, "Well, you're a lucky devil aren't you. Don't think I've decided to spare your life. Oh no Mr. Tate, I still plan on sacrificing you, but first I'm going to let you live long enough to watch your friends die."  
  
Dr. Wynn turned and walked away from John who was struggling in vain anger. He approached Stephen who was weeping in his chair, bound like a helpless rabbit. Terrence leaned in to look Stephen in the eyes, "Your daddy has come to save you." Stephen's eyes lit up in hopeful joy but were quickly filled with angry tears when Wynn added, "Michael's going to cut his heart out."  
  
Wynn reached forward and pulled the gag from Stephen's mouth. The little boy was about to scream but bit his tongue. He thought about what would happen and decided that it was useless to call for help. Even a child as naïve as Stephen Doyle knew when to keep quiet. Dr. Wynn smiled and stepped out of the way so Stephen could look across the room at John. John tried to reassure the kid with his eyes but at the moment he wasn't quite able to convince himself he would get out of this predicament alive.  
  
Dr. Wynn looked over at John and said, "By the way, how goes your wedding arrangements? I hear you've been very busy preparing for the big day. I do hope your fiancé isn't disappointed." John's eyes widened as a storm of rage course through his body. Wynn walked over to him and removed the gag. John shouted out, "If you touch Molly I swear to god I will kill you! Do you hear me? I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU!"  
  
Wynn smiled and turned back to Stephen. He walked over to the young boy and gently patted him on the head. Stephen looked up at him confused and said, "You're the shadow man aren't you?" Wynn nodded his head and said, "Yes, yes I am and you are a true prodigy child. The fact that your conception went so smoothly is utterly...a miracle." John lifted an eyebrow and asked, "What are you talking about?" Terrence turned and looked across the room at the young man. He sighed and began walking towards the wall of corpses. Wynn walked up to the second corpse from the left. The corpse under the tombstone marked 'Jamie Lloyd'.  
  
John felt his stomach grow increasingly upset as he watched Wynn approach his dead sister's body. Wynn approached Jamie's corpse and ran his hand across the rotting skull, "She was so innocent at one time. So young, and sweet...like honey and clovers." John struggled in anger at the lewd comments being made about his sister. Wynn looked over at Stephen and said, "Are you thinking about your mommy right now?" Stephen looked down at the floor. He was indeed thinking about his mother. He wanted to go home. He wanted to go home and sit in his mom's lap and have her pat his head and sing until he fell asleep.  
  
Terrence looked at John and then turned his cruel gaze back to Stephen, "Aww, well child...your mommy's right here." Stephen's head bolted up, his eyes widened as he stared at Dr. Wynn in fearful shock. Stephen wanted to throw up. He worked up the courage to meekly ask, "W-what do you mean?" Terrence looked at the skull in his head, it's dead face staring back at him. He suddenly and quite viciously twisted the skull to the right so it was staring directly in Stephen's direction. Wynn narrowed his eyes and said, "Stephen, meet Jamie Lloyd...your mother."  
  
Back in the sewer  
  
Lindsay felt the cold filthy water gradually inching it's way up her waist as she, Thom and Mark traveled deeper and deeper into the sewer tunnels. Mark stopped suddenly and turned to his companions. We're at a crossroads." Thom peered ahead of the sheriff and said, "Shit, which way do we go." Lindsay pointed the flashlight from left to right and examined the three tunnels in front of them.  
  
The grimy brick tunnel the three of them were standing in suddenly split into three separate tunnels. Each tunnel was equally dark and menacing. Water poured from all three sewer ceilings. Lindsay stepped past Thom who instinctively grabbed her shoulder and said, "What are you doing?" She turned to look back at him and said, "I'm going to try and get a closer look." She stepped forward and was about to wade past Mark when the burly man stuck his arm out to block her.  
  
Lindsay scoffed and said, "What do you think you are doing?" Mark looked at her with narrowed eyes and said in an authoritative voice, "Now listen Doctor, if anyone is going to go into those tunnels to explore it will be me." Lindsay frowned and said, "I am perfectly capable of investigation by myself." Sheriff Grayson cut her off as he yanked the flashlight out of her hand, "Not down here. Now stay here while I check to see where these tunnels go. Keep her here Doyle."  
  
Lindsay started marching forward as Mark was turning to head into the tunnels when Thom reached forward and yanked her back by the arm. Lindsay glared at him and said, "This is outrageous. I am not a child. I can do this." She became aggravated and in a mild fit of frustration she lifted her arms and thrust them down which caused a gush of dirty water to splash all over both Thom and herself. Lindsay sputtered and coughed. She lifted her hands in disgust and looked down at her soaked turtle neck and coat. Thom was similarly sputtering and spitting water out of his mouth. He used his hands to wiped the dripping mess from his face and looked at Lindsay dryly, "You were saying."  
  
Lindsay's angry eyes softened and a quivering smile crept onto her face. She started giggling. Thom smiled and looked down at his shirt which was likewise, covered in sewer water. "Look what you made me do!" Lindsay said defensively. Her tone was hiding her laughter as she ran her hands through her long black locks. She squeezed the water out of her hair as Thom and she laughed at the utter ridiculousness of what had just happened.  
  
"Hey guys!" Mark called to Thom and Lindsay from in the central tunnel. Thom and Mark both started walking forward. Thom squinted and called to mark, "You find anything yet?" Mark's voice echoed back, "Not yet. The tunnel goes on for a ways still. The flashlight isn't doing much good either. The lights just reflecting off the walls down here, I can't see for than three feet in front of me."  
  
Lindsay called out, "We're coming in there." She started trudging forward and suddenly stumbled. The water deepened by a good two feet. Mark heard the woman's startled cry and added with a touch of sarcasm, "I forgot to mention that the water gets deeper the further in you go!" Thom stepped in after Lindsay and called back, "Thanks for that Mark." Thom knelt down and helped Lindsay back onto her feet. The tail ends of her gray trench coat was puffed out and floating behind her. Thom shivered and Lindsay looked at him, "It's getting colder the deeper we get." Thom replied, "I'm fine, let's just move fast."  
  
Lindsay felt the cold water splash against her chest as they walked forward. It was becoming increasingly difficult to walk as the water was already up to their chests. Thom called ahead to Mark, "How deep does this water get Grayson?" There was a pause and no answer came. Thom realized awfully quickly that the light at the end of the tunnel was nearly gone and he and Lindsay were in almost complete darkness. His voice cracked as he called out, "Mark?"  
  
The light suddenly pierced Thom and Lindsay's eyes and Mark responded with a muffled voice, "Yeah! Sowwy bout that. I'm howlding my wifle above my head and I've got the frashlight in my mowf." Thom and Lindsay both shared a sigh of relied before Lindsay called, "How much farther is the tunnel?" A beat. "About fifty more feet or so. I'm just about to the other side."  
  
Mark was maneuvering his way through the murky depths with both arms stretched above his head holding his rifle out of the water's reach. He bit down on the small flashlight and aimed it outwards as he worked his way to the end of the damp tunnel. He finally emerged out of the tunnel and found himself in another cavern much like the one they were in before.  
  
This one however had no manhole on top for any light to escape from so the only light in the room was coming from the flashlight in Mark's mouth. Mark felt the water slowly decrease in height and soon he found himself back at waist length in the sewage. Mark lowered his rifle and took a look around. There weren't any ladders leading upwards. No other exits except for one tunnel which was right in front of him. Mark felt like his was trapped in between two giant snake heads, with one open mouth behind him and one in front, both eagerly waiting to devour him.  
  
Lindsay and Thom were slowly moving forward half walking, half swimming towards the end of the tunnel. Lindsay looked at Thom and could barely make out his outline in the almost nonexistent light. "I guess this is a bad time to mention I'm a bit claustrophobic." Thom smiled to himself and replied, "At least you're not afraid of the water."  
  
Mark was slowly moving towards the tunnel entrance in front of him when a shrill squeak startled him. A rat was shrieking and in a moment of surprise, the flashlight dropped from Mark's mouth. "Oh shit!" He cursed himself and looked down at the murky water. He used his left hand to steady his rifle above the water while using his right arm to reach into the sewage and search for the flashlight.  
  
Back in the tunnel Thom and Lindsay were beginning to feel the effects of the prolonged exposure t such cold water. Thom could hear Lindsay's teeth quietly chattering and said, "We'll be out soon." Lindsay replied, "I kn-now. At l-least I have a warm c-coat." Thom felt his own short jacket soaking up the ice water like a sponge. Thom looked ahead and whispered, "What the hell is taking him so long." Lindsay reached forward with her hands as the light disappeared, "I can't see a damn thing." Thom called out, "What'd you do, drop the light?"  
  
Mark cocked his head and called back, "Yeah, sorry!" Mark was moving his arm through the water trying to reach the cold muddy ground beneath. He felt the flashlight stuck in some mud and started trying to grasp at it but it kept slipping through his slimy fingers. Another shrieking rat startled Mark. He looked up and saw another rat swimming out of the tunnel in front of him. "I'm stuck in a giant toilet..." Mark looked back down at the dark water and felt the flashlight slip through his fingers again.  
  
Several more rats were scurrying out of the tunnel ahead of him as he finally grabbed the flashlight. He held it up to his face and frowned as he saw the light start to dim. He smacked it a couple of times. The light was fading on and off. More rats were swimming out of the tunnel now and Mark looked forward. He aimed the dimming flashlight at the deep tunnel in front of him. Nothing but darkness stared back at him. He felt his heartbeat quicken slightly as more rats suddenly began swimming frantically out of the tunnel. The screeched and whined as they desperately swam out of the tunnel as if they were trying to get away from something.  
  
Mark tapped the flashlight a couple more times before it fizzled and went out. The tiny splashes of the escaping rats began to increase around Mark. He twirled around to the tunnel behind him and saw the rats crawling up the walls and disappearing into nooks and crannies. The rats squeaked and cried as they ran for shelter. Mark could hear splashing footsteps in front of him and called for Thom and Lindsay, "You guys almost out here?"  
  
Thom called back, "Yeah were almost there!" Mark turned back around to the tunnel in front of him and stared at the void. Darkness surrounded him and all he could here were the splashing and hisses of vermin. Mark instinctively grabbed his rifle in both hands and held on tightly. He took a step forward and peered into the darkness. His eyes were starting to adjust and as he gazed into the nothing...a silhouetted form began to appear before his very eyes. Mark felt his blood run cold as a shape slowly formed out of the darkness...just feet in front of him.  
  
Thom and Lindsay were both reaching there hands outwards and trailing the sides of the tunnel as they sloshed forward. Lindsay stopped suddenly and whispered to Thom, "Do you hear that?" Thom tilted his head in the darkness and the two of them listened to the frantic sounds of a hundred rats scurrying around in front of them. Lindsay shrieked in disgust as one fell on her shoulder. Thom covered his head and hunched his shoulders as an onslaught of rodents scurried past them.  
  
Mark's eyes widened as he realized what was approaching him. He barely had time to aim his rifle when a large hand shot out of the darkness and tightly grabbed his throat. Mark fired his rifle at a crooked angle and in the sudden flash of light from the blast, he caught a quick glimpse of the pale pasty mask in front of him. "Jesus! Agh!" Mark's cry was stifled as the hand around his throat lifted him off his feet. Another hand shot out on Mark's left. The hand was grasping a huge shiny blade. The knife sparkled and glistened in the darkness as it was fiercely thrust into Mark's left shoulder. He screamed in intense pain as the knife was quickly pulled out and thrust down again; harder; into his left clavicle.  
  
Thom and Lindsay froze in terror as they heard a scream followed by a loud gunshot. A quick bright flash was followed by splashing and Marks agonizing screams. Then, there was silence again. Thom and Lindsay stared blindly ahead to the end of the tunnel. Their breathing was both ragged and harsh. Lindsay was about to call but Thom quickly whispered, "No! Don't make a sound." Lindsay clasped her hands over her shivering mouth as she waited for something, anything to happen.  
  
She was startled by something floating in the water bumped into her forearm. She slowly reached outwards and felt the flashlight in her hands. Lindsay held it to her chest as a wave of relief washed over her. Panic soon took over again as she realized it wasn't on. She tapped it and cursed quietly, "Damn it, it's not turning on. Please...fucker." She smacked it and a tiny flickering light shot out of the flashlight and lit up her face. She looked at Thom who was pale and blue in the faint light. He slowly looked forward and downwards. Lindsay slowly followed and aimed the flickering light outwards. She looked down and gasped. She held her breath as her free hand covered her mouth. Thom looked down and felt his heart drop into his stomach. The water had streams of red flowing in it. Mark's sheriff's hat slowly floated towards them.  
  
Lindsay and Thom slowly looked ahead as they heard a quiet splash. Suddenly a massive shape flew towards them! Lindsay screamed and Thom gasped as Mark's body was hurled into them head first. He landed face first in the shit infested sewage and simply floated head down in the grime. Lindsay's hands were shaking as she aimed the flashlight at Mark's body. She felt her stomach fill with cement as she saw the angry wounds in his shoulder.  
  
Thom croaked out the words in a voice constricted with fear, "Lindsay...we have to move. Now!" Lindsay looked forward and aimed the flickering light ahead of her. She screamed and felt a gush of warmth as she urinated into the water in sheer terror. Michael Myers was walking towards them. His pale mask splattered in blood. His dark overalls clinging to his body and dripping with water. His breathing was heavy and his butcher's knife was glistening and stained red with blood.  
  
TBC  
  
Author's Note: Hey guys. YAY! Michael finally returns after several chapters of being AWOL. I'm thinking I'll be able to wrap this story up with two or three more chapters. But fear not! Hopefully the ending will leave you craving more which is good because I'll soon begin writing Halloween 10 : ) As always, keep the feedback coming and enjoy this chapter and the ones coming ahead.  
  
Lizzard 


	20. Darkness Rising

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Halloween series or any of the characters except the ones I created specifically for this work of fiction. All characters are property of John Carpenter, Debra Hill, Moustapha Akkad etc etc. So please folk, don't be suing me.  
  
Chapter 20: Darkness Rising  
  
45 Lampkin Lane Haddonfield, IL October 31st 1963 11:30 PM  
  
Police cars surrounded the Myers house, neighbors stood in crowds barely held back by the yellow police tape surrounding the yard. Several reporters stood in the Myers driveway and along the road talking to neighbors and taking statements. The neighborhood was bustling and alive in the wake of a shocking event. The normally quiet and boring neighborhood hadn't been this active since the homecoming parade had come through Orange Grove about a month earlier.  
  
"Did you hear about it? It was her little brother! He's only six years old!" people whispered and gossiped about what had happened as the police pushed people back to keep them away from the grieving parents. Peter Myers stood outside in his front lawn with a look of utter confusion on his pale face. It was as if the man's 38-year-old brain had recessed to the days when he depended on his mother to hold his hand so he wouldn't get lost. Peter was lost now, he had the same vacant stare he got as a toddler when he had wandered away from his mother and gotten lost in the clothing store of the Russellville mall.  
  
The man stared out across the street at the crowd of people, flashing cameras and police cars. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion for him, like he couldn't process what was happening anymore. He remembered the Halloween party he and his wife had gone to. He remembered pouring vodka into his punch and dancing to 'The Monster Mash' at the country club. Peter remembered holding his wife Audrey in his arms and looking into her eyes and seeing, well…nothing. Nothing he wanted at least. The bitter scornful look of a neurotic chain-smoking basket case whose only goal in life seemed to be to get him to put a gun to his head.  
  
Peter and Audrey Myers had danced and smiled and laughed in front of their friends as if enjoying the party, their marriage and life in general. Unfortunately, only one of those statements was true for Peter. The party had been fun because; as his wandering eyes constantly reminded Audrey; Pam was there. Pamela Strode twirled on the dance floor with the executive manager of the town's realty agency and her husband Morgan.  
  
The woman had an angelic body language in Peter's opinion. She was so graceful yet so careless, and she danced like a pro. Her wavy brown lochs flew in and of her face as her blue eyes casually met with Peter's from across the room. Pam had the most beautiful hair, not like Audrey's simple, conservative bob haircut which perfectly surrounded her square face. Pam's hair was alive and fancy-free. Peter could tell she was slightly drunk, as was he. The tension of his failing marriage just seemed to float away whenever Peter laid eyes on Pam. Morgan was making an ass out of himself as usual, dancing like an ape on LSD and trying to sing along to the music. His slurred words kept him from truly grasping the mood of the song.  
  
Reality came back to slap Peter in the face as his notorious wandering eyes caught sight of his wife Audrey, leaning against a tree next to the house. Her cold eyes stared at him as she puffed on a cigarette. Peter suddenly and unhappily remembered the rest of the night. He remembered leaving the party with his cold wife and watching Pam nurse her husband while he vomited in a trashcan. He remembered the long silent drive home, Audrey avoiding eye contact with him by looking out the passenger window. She had built up a shield to keep Peter out which was fine to him, he'd rather have her shut him out than constantly yell at him and accuse him a hundred different infidelities, loan frauds, and sexual misconducts.  
  
It had been a cold night with a bit of rain. Peter knew his children would still be up, except Laurie of course. They had put her to bed by six and she was a surprisingly heavy sleeper. Judith would most likely be in her room studying, she never went to bed until after eleven and Mikey would probably be too excited to sleep at all. Peter may have given up on his relationship with Audrey, but the kids were the most important things in his life. He loved his children dearly and couldn't stand how he and Audrey's constant late night arguments were affecting them.  
  
Peter stood in the cold rainy yard and remembered his last few minutes of sanity. He remembered trying to break the silence with his wife as they drove home, "Damn it Audrey, would you just tell me what I did tonight to piss you off so much." Audrey had coldly turned to him and bluntly said, "Nothing. You did absolutely nothing. That's the problem Peter, you never do a damn thing." Peter had tightened his hands around the steering wheel as he said, "Oh great, here we go." Audrey had folded her arms and said, "I'm sorry if this routing is getting old for you Peter, but I'm tired of it too. Do you think I like watching you stare at every other woman in town?"  
  
Peter had looked at his wife incredulously and said, "I have no idea what you are talking about!" Audrey had simply rolled her eyes and looked at him while she sarcastically responded, "Oh please Peter. If you're going to deny it, at least be sincere. We both know the only head you follow is the one in your pants, so don't even try to say otherwise but do me a favor would you? When you do check out every slut whose willing to spread her legs for twenty bucks, don't be so obvious about it. Subtlety is not your strongest asset."  
  
Peter had veered around a curve angrily as he said, "This is great! What a wonderful way to spend the night, stuck in a car with my accusing wife. Audrey dear you must have the venom sacks in your mouth drained or I fear you'll choke in the night." Audrey had glared at him and then turned her head back out the window after letting out a loud and angry sigh. "What's that out there?" Peter could see their house in the distance and had seen a figure coming out the front door. "Is that? It's Michael, what the hell is he doing wandering around outside?" Audrey had looked over at Peter, her expression changing from anger to worry as she said, "Why isn't Lila watching him?"  
  
Peter had pulled over to the curb as they arrived at their home and the two adults quickly got out of their car. Peter remembered walking up onto the lawn and seeing his six year old son still wearing that goofy clown costume and mask. What suddenly made the man's heart skip a beat was when he saw the red stains on the little boy's costume. He felt his blood turn cold as he saw the large knife in his child's tiny hand.  
  
Peter had walked up to his middle child, the one who was always getting into trouble, always looking for adventures, and always drawing pictures. Now, he was eerily quiet and still. He didn't run and jump into his father's arms like he usually did. He didn't hug Peter and shout, "Daddy! Did you get me anything?" Little Michael just stood there looking out into the darkness.  
  
Peter and Audrey exchanged a nervous glance before Peter said, "Michael?" He reached out and pulled the clown mask from his child's face. Audrey grew stern as she put her hands into her long coat pockets as if ready to scold her boy and say, "I've told you a hundred times not to play with sharp things, now look you've cut yourself!" But Audrey didn't speak, and Michael wasn't cut. The blood wasn't his.  
  
Peter had felt his knees buckle and fell to them as he stared at his son, "Michael? Michael what's wrong? What happened?" Peter had grabbed his little boy's shoulders with both his strong hands and shook him harshly shouting, "Why aren't you saying anything!?" Audrey had suddenly gasped and said, "Laurie!" She quickly looked up at their front door and began running towards it. Audrey ran into the house and Peter could hear her high heels hitting the floor as she ran up the stairs. Peter looked at his son and noticed he was still holding the knife, "Give that to me son." Peter reached over to grab the knife and was about to take it when he heard Audrey's blood curdling scream.  
  
It was at this point in Peter Myers' life that events began to slow down as his brain systematically overloaded and shut down. Peter had dropped the clown mask as he'd stood up and began running towards his front door. He'd entered the house and heard the quiet ticking of the clock as he started running up the stairs. Time had slowed down in Peter's mind as he reached the top of the stairs. He could hear little Laurie crying now, having been awoken by her mother's screams.  
  
Peter raced past Laurie's room and into Judith's. Where the hell had his supposedly independent and responsible daughter gone? She'd only agreed to baby-sit for Laurie because she knew the child would be asleep before sundown. She'd firmly protested sitting for Michael however as she knew all too well how rambunctious he could get, especially after consuming large quantities of sugar.  
  
Peter and Audrey had agreed to let Judith watch Laurie while they were at the party and turned to their neighbor Mrs. Blankenship to watch their son. So why was Michael home instead of across the street at Lila's house? And why wasn't Judith home studying like she said she would be. Peter had momentarily assumed that her seventeen-year-old daughter had snuck out to be with her boyfriend.  
  
All of Peter's notions were abruptly dismissed however as he entered Judith's room. What lie before Peter Myers' eyes would haunt him until the day he died, not to mention the rest of the town. Peter felt his stomach contract and nearly implode, his hands began to shake and he felt as if he might vomit. Lying not ten feet away from him was his eldest daughter. The apple of his eye, the girl he knew would become an intelligent and strong woman.  
  
Judith; who Peter had been so proud of despite the ugly rumors about her promiscuity; was sprawled out on the floor wearing nothing but her white flowered panties, stabbed like a carved animal and looking up with her blank dead eyes at her father.  
  
Peter had brought his hand up to his mouth to keep from throwing up as the color drained from his face. It looked as if someone had poured a bucket of red paint over Judith, as she and the floor beneath her were stained deep crimson with blood. There must have been eight puncture wounds penetrating her chest, stomach, back and breasts.  
  
Audrey had collapsed next to her daughter's dresser and was holding onto Judith's recently used hairbrush with trembling hands. A look of appalled horror was frozen on Audrey's wife as tears glistened under her reddened eyes. Peter walked up to his daughter's body with an almost dazed look on his face. Everything from the past night, week, month, everything started to bleed out from Peter's head as he knelt down and brought his right hand up to Judith's face. He sniffled back several tears as he brushed several strands of his daughter's long blonde hair out of her pale face. Peter had let the tears fall from his eyes freely as he placed his hand over Judith's stare and moved her cold eyelids over her glassy eyes.  
  
Audrey had tried to shout out, tried to say something, but all that would come out was a hoarse croak as she leaned her head back onto the wall and started sobbing. Peter had felt a chill go up his spine. He had looked up past his daughter's body and saw the bedroom window. He stood up and walked around Judith as Audrey reached for the girls discarded sweater. Audrey quietly gathered the sweater and spread it over Judith's naked chest to cover her bloody breasts.  
  
Peter approached the window and pulled the curtain back. He looked out with a look of pure terror as he saw his six-year-old son looking up at him from down in the front yard. Peter felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end as he looked into Michael's eyes, those dark and empty eyes. The eyes not of an innocent child, but of a soulless killer. Remorseless, totally unsympathetic and utterly black…like the Devil's.  
  
Now, nearly forty five minutes later; only a half hour to midnight; Peter stood out in his front yard staring at the crowd of neighbors eager to find out what had happened. A man came up behind Peter and put a hand on his shoulder, "Excuse me sir…we uh, we need you to identify the body for the records…" Peter looked at the officer and then back at his wife who took another puff of her cigarette, her auburn bobbed hair blowing in the October wind.  
  
Peter looked at the front entrance as two paramedics walked out with a body bag on a stretcher. One of the paramedics unzipped the bag to reveal Judith's pale face. Peter mustered up all of his strength and quickly glanced down at his daughter, "Yeah…that's her." The officer began asking another question but Peter only heard static as he turned and walked away.  
  
Peter walked out onto the lawn, past his wife who turned away, past a policeman questioning Lila Blankenship who looked utterly clueless, but who kept glancing to the left. Peter turned and followed her gaze and saw one of the police squad cars still emitting red and blue light. Tonight, an event had taken place that would make the Myers' name synonymous with death. Tonight, something had started a chain of events which would lead the very house Peter stood in front of to become the town spook house. His own son would become a local Boo Radley…he'd become a boogieman for future generations of children to fear.  
  
Peter felt numb inside as he stared at Michael who was sitting in the back. Michael didn't move, he didn't shout out pleas of innocence, he didn't even cry. He just sat there staring ahead as if transfixed. An officer approached Peter and he felt a tiny hand touch his face. He turned and saw Laurie reaching out for her daddy. The officer handed the little two-year-old girl to Peter who scooped her up into his arms and tightly embraced her. Laurie yawned and blinked several times before nestling her head onto Peter's shoulder and went back to sleep.  
  
The officer looked over at Michael and then back to Peter, "He'll spend the night at the hospital where he'll be on guard until morning when he'd arraigned. Most likely he'll be sent to Smith's Grove Warren County Sanitarium…in the children's unit of course. We'll take care of him.  
  
The words were of little comfort to Peter as he stared at his son. Michael turned his head and stared out at them. Peter couldn't speak as he watched the child. He tightened his grip on Laurie when he realized it was her who Michael was staring at. Peter felt his stomach knot as his son burned a hole in the car's window with his glare. Laurie had fallen asleep and was quietly breathing as Peter held her. One thought went through Peter Myers' mind as the squad car took off, 'You're not getting her too.'  
  
Smith's Grove Sanitarium October 31st 2004 11:40 PM  
  
"Lindsay, we have to move NOW!" Thom had already turned around and was yanking Lindsay's arm. Lindsay stood frozen in blind terror as she watched the menacing figure approach them. Lindsay nearly dropped the flashlight as her hands trembled. She looked back down at Mark, floating face first in the water, blood turning the water around him red. Michael was nearly on top of her; he raised his knife preparing to strike. Thom shouted, "Lindsay!" and tugged on her arm again. She snapped out of it and jumped back just as Michael brought the knife down. He missed her by mere inches.  
  
Michael reached his other hand up out of the water, he was clutching Mark's rifle. He quickly swung the barrel end of the rifle and smashed the handle into the side of Thom's head. Thom flew to the left right side of the sewer tunnel and hit Lindsay along the way. Lindsay heard a loud crack as Thom hit the tunnel wall. Michael tossed the rifle to the side as Lindsay rushed to Thom's side, "Jesus get up!" Thom opened his eyes and painfully looked up at Lindsay who was holding the flashlight up with a shaky hand and pointing at the menace in front of them.  
  
Thom shook his head and clutched his jaw, his lip was bleeding. Thom snarled at Michael and lunged forward. He punched Michael in the face, "Die you fucker!" Thom's angry shouts echoed in the dim tunnel. Thom laid out an assault of punches and blows on Michael's face chest and stomach. Michael simply stood there like a statue, staring at Thom as if completely un-phased by the attacks.  
  
Thom slowed down and quickly reached down for the rifle before backing up and looking at Michael with an almost 'I dare you' expression. He aimed the rifle at Michael and said, "Give us a head start eh fuck face?" He pulled the trigger and shot Michael square in the chest. Michael stepped back and brought his free hand up to his chest. Blood began filling the crevasses between the shapes' fingers. Michael looked down at his wound and then brought his head back up to look at the two terrified people. Michael started walking forward completely disregarding his bleeding bullet wound; after all, it wasn't the first one he'd received tonight.  
  
Thom's eye twitched and he let out a nervous laugh as Michael walked towards him and Lindsay. Lindsay backed up in fear and tripped over her own jelly legs. She fell on her butt and looked up at Michael from the murky water. Lindsay let out a yelp as her knee bumped into Mark's body. Thom backed up and started to speak to Lindsay, "We need to start running right about now." Thom turned and harshly yanked Lindsay to her feet as the shape came towards them like a robot programmed to kill.  
  
Thom and Lindsay began running back through the tunnel they had just come from. Thom looked behind him as he pulled Lindsay along. Michael pushed Mark's body aside and began pursuing them. He was right behind them and moving fast. "Don't look back!" Thom shouted to Lindsay as she tried to keep up.  
  
Michael was only feet behind Lindsay as they waded through the waist high water. Lindsay suddenly screamed and fell behind as Michael grabbed her by her ankle and yanked her back. Thom turned and saw Michael pulling Lindsay back, "No! Let her go!" Michael looked up at Thom who stared at the shape with pleading eyes. Michael tilted his head back and forth before raising his knife into the air. Thom had to think quickly, he couldn't waist any more bullets until he knew he could get a clean shot. Lindsay screamed and thrashed around as the pressure around her ankle tightened. She heard the bones in her leg cracking and started to cry.  
  
Thom quickly dived under the water and Lindsay shouted, "Thom!" Thom was under water searching the ground with his hands trying to find something, anything to use as a weapon. He felt a large heavy object and grabbed it before coming back up to the surface. Thom looked at his hand and saw he had found a large brick that had been dislodged from the tunnel wall. He pulled his arm back, prayed his aim was good, and hurled the brick at Michael.  
  
A loud crack echoed through the tunnel as both Michael and Lindsay were thrown backwards. Thom ran over to Lindsay worried that he'd hit her, "Lindsay! Are you ok?" Lindsay got up and quickly stumbled back into the water, "Shit my ankle, I think it's broken." Thom knelt down and helped her out of the water. She reached up and wrapped her left arm around his neck and he picked her up off the ground. Once balanced, Thom wrapped an arm around Lindsay's waist to steady her.  
  
Lindsay looked down behind her and saw Michael on his back; blood running from a gash in his mask. Thom poked Michael with the rifle. The shape didn't move as he sank beneath the water like a stone. Thom grabbed Lindsay by the hand as he said, "I didn't buy us much time, we'd better get going." Lindsay nodded and said, "Thanks." They began moving further into the tunnel from which they'd come from.  
  
Thom turned to Lindsay, "Here, take the rifle and give me the flashlight." Lindsay handed it over and clutched the rifle for security as they pushed through the cold water. Thom aimed the flashlight ahead of them, "We're going to end up back in the crossroads. There were three tunnels, maybe we could choose another one." Lindsay replied, "No, we can't risk it. We might just get more lost. We have to find another way and soon, I can't go on much further." Thom was silent a moment and the only noise in the tunnel was the loud splashing of water.  
  
Lindsay broke the silence, "Thom? I uh, Mark…" She trailed of and Thom quickly replied, "I know." Lindsay put her hand on his shoulder and said, "I know he was a good friend of yours." Thom looked at her and she saw the sadness in his eyes. Lindsay leaned in and brushed away some of his stray bangs which had been in his eyes. Thom quickly turned away and said, "The only thing we can do is get out of here and find Stephen and John. We'll have to go back to the beginning."  
  
Lindsay let out a painful cry as she stepped onto her bad foot, "Please, we can't go that far. I wont make it." Thom looked at her and helped her keep steady. He pulled her closer to him with his arm and felt her body, it was quite cold. Thom noticed that she was shivering. He realized he was shivering too; they needed to get out of the water before they got hypothermia.  
  
Thom realized something and looked at Lindsay while she limped forward, "Wait a minute, the manhole! There was a manhole just past the crossroads. That ladder that Mark…he tried to show us another way out. It's our best shot." Lindsay winced in pain and said, "Ok, but let's hurry. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to walk."  
  
Back in the murky tunnel, the sheriff of Haddonfield was floating face first in sewage when he suddenly woke up. He flung his head up out of the water and violently began sputtering and gasping for air. He felt a sharp pain in his arm but his shoulder was completely numb. Mark was blind in the pitch-black tunnel save for the white spots dancing in front of him from the blood loss.  
  
It took every ounce of his strength for Mark to roll over onto his back. He coughed again and felt a slight tinge of blood in his mouth. As Mark slipped in and out of consciousness, he began to realize what had happened. Although his memories were fragmented and slightly hazy, Mark remembered who his attacker was. Myers, he had stabbed him and left him to die, luckily the knife had missed his heart and lungs and only penetrated muscle. Mark tried to move his arm, he tried to tighten his fist but neither would move.  
  
Mark felt water dripping on his face from the pipes above him. He strained to see something, anything, but it was too dark. All he could hear were the dripping water streams and his own shallow breathing. Sheriff Grayson knew it was only a matter of time before his wounds succumbed to infection. He needed to get out of this filthy water. He may not have been mortally wounded, but the stab wounds in his shoulder were deep and he was losing blood, not to mention the bacteria in the water were freely entering the angry openings.  
  
Mark tried to sit up but the straining on his arm and chest was too painful. He slowly reached out his right arm; the uninjured of the pair; and tried to get a hold of the tunnel wall, or a pipe, anything to give him leverage so he could attempt to stand up. All he could feel was the cold damp air around him. Mark was too far away from the tunnel's sides; there was nothing for him to grab a hold of. He did feel his body slowly moving forward though, towards the tunnel from which Michael had emerged. He closed his eyes and tried to reserve his strength by taking long calming breaths.  
  
Mark could feel the tunnel's current from what he assumed was sewage draining out into the lake. As Mark floated through the tunnel, he thought about his wife Grace and their daughter. He prayed they were all right and that he'd see them again. Mark also said a silent prayer for Thom and Lindsay. He hoped they hadn't met up with Myers though he doubted that. Mark hoped that Thom and Lindsay got out of here ok and that Thom found his son.  
  
Unfortunately at this point in time, there was nothing he could really do to help his friend. All Mark could do was hope that the current swept him into an open tunnel. If he reserved his strength enough until then, he may just have enough to climb out of the water when he reached a tunnel exit.  
  
While Mark was holding on for dear life, Thom and Lindsay were trying to escape the sewer. Thom had begun to move faster as his adrenaline; and his fueled desire to find his son; gave him a boost of energy. He knew there was only a little ways more before they got to the tunnel with the bars leading up to that manhole. All he needed to do was push the cover open and they'd be free.  
  
Lindsay was having trouble keeping up with Thom, her ankle was cracked and swollen and hurt like hell to move on. Thom had been helping her along but she'd loosened herself from his grip. She could walk on her own; at least, she thought she could. Michael had really crushed his hand around her ankle; it felt like it would shatter into pieces if she stepped on it wrong.  
  
On top of that, Lindsay was exhausted; between the fiasco at Ridgemont and driving back into town, then all the commotion at Thom's house. Lindsay had already exerted so much energy earlier in the night when she and Stephen had to escape from the ambulance, and then she had carried the child until she herself was ready to pass out. She'd been shocked into unconsciousness with a tazer and imprisoned, and now she had been traveling for what seemed like forever in these wretched tunnels.  
  
Lindsay had seen what Michael was capable of back when she was a child but tonight was different. Tonight she had witnessed his wrath on a more visceral level. She had met his past victims in person and seen how he'd ruined their lives. John, Kara, Sara, Dan, they'd all met Myers and survived, but, they were all different because of it. She was different.  
  
Tonight; on the night of Samhain; Lindsay had watched in horror as Michael killed the three paramedics in her ambulance as well as their driver and all four occupants of the other ambulance. Lindsay had seen what Michael had done to Mark; in her mind he was dead. Her and Thom's only hope was to find that manhole and get the hell out of there. Lindsay glanced behind her; she saw nothing but the blackness…it was eerily fitting. After everything she had seen tonight, this felt almost calm.  
  
"Lindsay! Unless your plans include meeting a gruesome demise, I suggest we try and hurry." Thom looked back at her and she grew stern, "I am not a child Thom! You don't have to talk to me like one." She trudged forward and quickly winced. She bit her tongue to avoid crying out in pain, she was not about to let Thom know how much pain she was in. She'd be fine as soon as they got out, got Stephen and John, and got to the nearest hospital. 'Wait a minute,' she thought, 'this whole place is a god damn hospital!' There must have been close to a thousand patients here at this facility.  
  
"We're here, Linz, look." Thom pointed upwards as the two of them emerged from the claustrophobic tunnel. They had arrived back in the canyon they were in earlier. Sure enough, the rusty ladder bars led straight up past a sealed ledge and beyond that, a manhole in the ceiling. Lindsay's eyes traveled the ceiling and it's surrounding pipes. What she hadn't noticed earlier in their haste was a large drainpipe jutting out from the wall near the ladder. It was a huge pipe with a rusted handle near it.  
  
Thom noticed the pipe as well and said, "What is it for?" Lindsay was breathing raggedly as she spoke, "Flood valves. It's, it's a drainpipe to let the water in the upper levels drain into the tunnels. It basically flushes the rainwater out of the streets, through the tunnels and out into the lake. They're for emergencies, in case the building's flooding." Lindsay was exhausted, she needed to rest and soon. She could feel the constant running taking its toll on her.  
  
Without a moment's hesitation, Thom stuck the flashlight in his mouth and walked over to the ledge below the ladder bars. He used his upper arm strength to climb up onto the ledge and then reached out for the handlebars. He grabbed one and tugged on it to make sure it was sturdy, it was. Thom then lifted his foot and placed it up on the bar and pulled himself onto the ladder. He started climbing slowly as not to break any bars.  
  
Lindsay looked around and then started limping towards the ledge. She tossed the rifle up over the ledge and then reached up and felt her hands go over the top of the ledge. She started using her upper arm strength to try and pull herself up. She was too tired however and found it very difficult to climb up. She called up to Thom, "Be careful, some of those bars are almost completely rusted through." Thom looked back at her and muffled a reply. He clenched the flashlight in his teeth as he continued to climb.  
  
As Lindsay continued to try and climb up onto the ledge, she failed to notice a dark shape materializing in the darkness of the tunnel entrance. Michael slowly stepped forward out of the black void. His breathing was deep and steady. The gash on his head had only slowed him down. Thom looked up and saw the manhole, it was getting closer. Thom got overly anxious and reached an arm up to push the manhole cover up of its base. His other hand made up for his weight shift by pulling harder on the bar. Unfortunately this was a slightly more corroded bar and it began cracking under the exertion forced on it.  
  
Thom was so close, "Just a little further…almost there…" Just as he was about to touch the cover, the bar he was hanging on to broke of the sewer wall. Thom felt his body falling backwards. His legs still on the bar beneath him, he felt himself losing his balance. Thom shot an arm out just as he began to fall. His hand tightly wrapped around another bar and he found himself hanging of the edge of the ladder.  
  
Lindsay had nearly hoisted herself up onto the ledge when she heard Thom's startled cry. She looked up and saw him begin to fall then catch himself. She gave a sigh of relief and pulled her good leg up onto the ledge. She was getting ready to pull herself the rest of the way up when Thom cried out. Thom had glanced down at Lindsay just to check on her when he saw Michael coming up behind her. In an effort to call out and warn her, Thom spat the flashlight out of his mouth, "Lindsay! Watch out, he's right behind you!"  
  
Lindsay went pale and quickly looked behind her just as Michael lunged forward and grabbed her already cracked ankle. He violently yanked her back and she was nearly pulled right off the ledge. Lindsay screamed as her fingernails were ground into the brick ledge. Michael lifted his other arm up and prepared to plunge his knife into Lindsay when she used her free leg to kick him in the face. Lindsay tried to climb further up onto the ledge and grab the rifle. Michael rammed his knife down at her thigh but missed and pinned his knife through her long coat and into the brick ledge.  
  
Lindsay was pinned to the ledge by her damp overcoat. She started to pull it off as Michael tried to yank his knife out of the ledge. Lindsay looked up at Thom who looked about ready to jump off the ladder and tackle Michael. She cried out. "No! The drainpipe! Turn it on!" Thom glanced to his left and saw the rusty handle wheel. It hadn't been turned in years. Thom reached forward with his left arm and felt the ladder creak. He quickly climbed up several steps and tried again. He was still out of reach, "Shit!" He cursed as he reached forward as far as his arm would let him. He crawled forward and leaned so far off the ladder that only his right hand and right leg were holding him on.  
  
Lindsay struggled to get out of her overcoat as Michael continued to crush her ankle in his hand. She finally pulled herself up onto the ledge and tore her overcoat free from the knife just as Michael freed his weapon from the ledge. Thom finally reached the wheel and began twisting it with his free hand. He felt the rusty handle fragments dig and cut into his hand as he turned it. Thom and Lindsay heard a low grumbling; the entire cavern began to creak slightly. Michael was preparing to stab Lindsay again when he too heard the loud rumbling. Michael looked up at the drainpipe just as it exploded into a stream of water that jetted at him with the force of a hundred trucks.  
  
Lindsay felt a sudden pull as the water swept out of the pipe and into the cavern. The current of sewer water raced through the abandoned tunnels. Michael grabbed onto the ledge to keep from being swept away. Lindsay used every ounce of strength she had and finally pulled herself up onto the ledge. She grabbed the rifle and ran up to the bars. She looked up to Thom and called out, "Hurry! He's coming!" Thom could barely hear her pleas under the loud thunder of the crashing floodwater. Lindsay started climbing upwards. She stuck the rifle under her arm and climbed up the rusty bars. Thom began climbing back up the ladder. The added weight of a second person took its toll on the ladder however and it began to shake and break free form the wall.  
  
Michael had climbed up onto the ledge and grabbed a hold of the first ladder bar. He pulled on it with an inhuman strength and it broke right off the wall. Lindsay was about half way up the ladder and Thom was two bars away from the top when it happened. The shaking became too great and the ladder began splitting away from the sewer wall. Thom tightened his grip around the top bar and shouted in surprise, "Brace yourself!" He watched in horror as the top several bars broke from the wall and the entire top portion of the ladder began slightly swaying backwards ready to collapse at any moment.  
  
Thom felt a burst of adrenaline and quickly heaved all his muscle up into the ceiling. He crushed himself up against the manhole cover and began pushing. He felt the cover begin to pop off its base. Thom broke out in a sweat as he screamed in pain. He pushed as hard as he could almost tearing all the muscles in his back and shoulders. The manhole cover finally broke free and popped off its base. Thom was free! He climbed up out of the manhole and pushed his arms up and on to the firm ground around him.  
  
Thom felt a sudden jerk as the ladder gave way under his feet. He heard a shrill scream and looked down beneath. There he saw Lindsay fearfully looking up at him as the ladder fell backwards. His aerial view saw the ladder falling towards the water below with Lindsay still hanging on. She thrust the rifle up into the air and clutched both hands on the bar above her. Thom caught the rifle and threw it up and onto the surface floor. Michael was on the ledge ready to slaughter whom ever fell at him. Thom hoisted his arms up to brace himself then called to Lindsay, "Reach for my legs!"  
  
Lindsay felt a wave of vertigo sweep over her trembling body as she looked down and saw the ground far below. She was trapped on the top half of a ladder which had already dislodged itself from the wall. She was hanging over the ground like a worm on a hook and the shark was below her ready to feed.  
  
Lindsay reached her arm upwards towards Thom's legs but they were too far away. She only had one chance; it was now or never, "God give me strength." Lindsay leapt upwards as hard as she could. In a massive leap of courage, Lindsay reached her arms forward and grabbed Thom's legs. Thom didn't need another moment's notice; he pulled himself up out of the manhole and helped Lindsay climb out as well.  
  
Just as this happened, the ladder broke the rest of the way and came crashing towards Michael. Michael was still looking up at Thom and Lindsay far above him as he stepped out of the crashing ladder's path. He may have avoided being crushed by the falling metal, but as it crashed, it tore the ledge to rubble. The ledge Michael was standing on collapsed and he fell right into the path of the drainpipe's tyrannical shower.  
  
The blast of water hit Michael like a bus and he was pushed into the water like a rag doll being sprayed with a fire hose. Michael may have been an unstoppable killer, a force of nature if you will, but even he could not withstand the mighty force of a flood. Michael was swept away into the flooding tunnels along with hundreds of drowning rats.  
  
Lindsay felt Thom straining to pull her out of the manhole. He yanked her back ad they fell up and out onto the ground. Thom fell hard on his back and Lindsay collapsed right on top of him. Thom's eyes widened as she fell on top of him. Lindsay passed out from exhaustion before she could even realize how awkward their position was. Lindsay fell limp in Thom's arms and the two of them just lie there on the ground breathing hard. Both exhausted, but both relieved to still be alive…even if only one of them was still conscious.  
  
Stephen Lloyd felt his world begin to break at the seams. He had already watched his once happy care-free childhood begin to slip away from him as the ugly truth carved it's way into his life. But now, at this moment, the child literally felt his life crumbling around him. That…thing next to the mean man was his mommy? That wasn't true…it couldn't be.  
  
"You're LYING!!!" Stephen screamed in anger as tears began pouring down his face. His lips quivered as he began crying. His tiny hands trembled with rage as he struggled to break free from his confines. Dr. Wynn lifted an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side. He released Jamie's skull from his grasp and walked over to Stephen. Terrence squatted down and rested his hands on his knees. He looked up into Stephen's fuming eyes and said matter-of-factly, "Son, you really shouldn't be calling me the liar. I'm not the one who kept such an important secret from you. And what a secret it is. Your own parents…lying to you from the day you were born."  
  
John shouted out to Stephen, "Don't listen to him Stephen. He's an evil man! Don't trust a thing he says." Wynn stood up and reached his hand into his coat pocket. He pulled out a small remote control and aimed it above the row of corpses. He pushed a button and a large projector screen came rolling down. A cult member from the large group walked into the back of the room and flicked a switch on a control panel. The lights went out only to cast the room in a reddish orange glow from the flickering candles. Wynn pushed another button on the remote and the screen lit up.  
  
John and Stephen where bathed in the blue glare of the movie theatre sized screen hanging above the slaughtered Myers clan. Terrence looked at John and then at Stephen. The wicked man smiled and said, "We keep all of our patients under twenty-four hour watch. Our cell monitors record everything that happens." Wynn pushed play and the screen came to life.  
  
John struggled in his chair as he watched through what must have been a security camera. The bottom right side of the screen read '#11651 10/31/04' Stephen held his breath in shock as they watched. It was Lindsay, struggling to break free from several ropes binding her down. She looked around the room in fear as she realized where she was. John and Stephen grimaced as they watched her thrashing to break free.  
  
Dr. Wynn pushed a button on the remote and the image changed to a new recording. Now the label was 'surveillance 11781 10/29/04' John's eyes widened in anxiety when he saw his beloved fiancée Molly appear on the screen. From the positioning of the camera, John knew they were watching from inside a vehicle of some sort. Rain was pouring outside the vehicle which looked to be driving slowly past an airport entrance.  
  
Thom tightened his fists in anger and fear as the camera focused and slowly zoomed in on Molly who was smiling to herself as she stood out front. She was talking on a cell phone. The camera picked up on the conversation and John felt tears in his eyes as he heard molly speak, "I'm kind of stuck at the airport and it's raining so could you please call me back? I'm going to call a cab and get a room at the nearest hotel ok? Call me soon! I love you" The screen echoed Molly's words and Stephen looked at John with sympathy in his eyes. This must have been John's girlfriend, he thought, John and Daddy had never managed to find her.  
  
The screen showed Molly looking out into the street before turning and walking back into the airport. John closed his eyes and prayed harder than he'd ever prayed, 'get on a plane please god let her get on another plane. She gave up and went home…just let her be home right now' John opened his eyes and watched as Wynn fast-forwarded. The screen showed the vehicle interior, the airport outside the van window sped up as the van appeared to drive around to the back of the airport. Wynn continued to fast forward until the screen showed Molly walk out of the back end of the terminal.  
  
John looked up at the movie screen with a childlike fear in his eyes. His nose was wet and hit eyes were glistening with tears. Wynn pushed play again and the tape resumed. The camera moves slightly as movement happened inside the van. The sound of a car door opening filled the room. Molly was in the distance standing in the rain looking down at her California blouse. She started walking off across the parking lot when she tripped over her heals. John felt the tears falling freely as he watched Molly stand back up. She continued walking until she looked at the van. It almost appeared as if she were looking right at the screen, right at John.  
  
John watched in anguish as Molly started walking towards the camera, looking around as she did so. John sniffed and began choking out pleas, "C'mon Molly, turn back. Get away, don't come any closer. Damn it Molly!" Molly was now at the van window looking inside the vehicle. Molly's face lit up the movie screen as she peered around inside the van, "Ok Molly, too tired to play around, you need sleep and lots of it." Molly back up and peered off screen. She started walking away from the van when she tripped again. Molly was no longer in view except for her hand bracing herself along the window sill.  
  
All John could hear was Molly say, "Fuck it." There was a pause and then suddenly a loud scream. John shouted out at the screen as he heard his lover's cries, "God! Molly!!" John struggled to see what the hell was happening but the way the camera was positioned inside the van only allowed him to see what was happening right outside the van window.  
  
John's heart was pounding inside his chest as he saw Molly coming back into view. She was struggling to stand up. She began limping away in pain and turned back to look at the van. She was staring in horror at something off screen. Molly screamed, "Oh my god!" Molly turned away and started limping back towards the airport. John cried out in fear when he saw her bloody foot. "Get away Molly! Don't turn back!" John stopped breathing as Molly turned back and looked around in fear.  
  
The camera which must have been filming from the backseat stared at the woman as she ran back towards the van. Molly ran right off screen but the sound still caught her movements. Her hard breathing got louder as she came around to the other side of the van. The vehicle moved slightly as she leaned up against it, right behind the camera. John cried out in utter fear and sadness. All anybody could hear was the sound of molly's fearful breathing as she seemed to just…wait. Footsteps could be heard and suddenly the Shape came into view as he walked around the front of the passenger window, right past the camera. John screamed, "NOOO!"  
  
Stephen and John watched in terror as the Shape walked past the window and out of view again. The camera moved slightly as movement stirred the van. Molly had climbed into the van and half of her body could be seen on the left side of the movie screen. Her ragged breathing was the only sound filling the cult ceremonial room. All the cultists were deathly quiet and Dr. Wynn didn't make a sound. The movie screen glowed as Molly began struggling to move the gear shift. Only half of her was showing still and John struggled to make out what was happening. His heart broke as he heard her start to cry.  
  
John and Stephen were both leaning forward peering at the screen trying to see what was going on. They both jumped in their seats suddenly when a loud crash echoed through the room. Molly's terrified screams resonated as she was pulled off screen. The sound of the van door slamming shut was followed by a loud crack. Then another, both accompanied by Molly's anguished cries.  
  
A third crash shook the van. The camera picked up and fragments of glass as the window shattered inwards. John was trembling and crying as blonde curls went flying, barely touching the left hand side of the screen, Molly's face could partially be seen on the lower left hand side of the screen. John was crying out loud as he heard Molly's last words, "Nooo"  
  
Terrence paused the tape and the blurred paused image of Molly's face peeking out form the side of the screen stayed frozen in place. John's head fell downwards as he began to sob to himself. Terrence spoke out, "I thought we should stop there as well…it gets a little messy from then on out." John lost himself in his own sobs. He could barely breath, his cries filled his throat.  
  
Dr. Wynn pushed another button on the remote and the image changed. John looked up at the screen and stopped crying. He watched in curiosity as a girl was in view on the screen. Like Lindsay, this girl was also in a cell although she wasn't tied down like an animal. No, this girl was roaming freely about; rather restlessly at that; in her cell. John read the label at the bottom right of the screen and gasped. It said 'Lloyd #737 05/17/90' John looked back at the girl, she was no older than ten or eleven. She bashed her head up against a wall and began crying, "Let me out! Please! Dr. Loomis where are you!" The girl looked up at the screen with tear stained eyes, "Somebody…please help me."  
  
John realized who the girl was and spoke, "Jamie…" Dr. Wynn looked at John and smiled. John looked over at Stephen who was watching screen. He had no idea that the girl on the screen was his mother. Stephen read the caption however and turned pale. John knew that Stephen had figured it out. The little boy looked at the girl on the screen, and then at the corpse below. Stephen's lips quivered as a tear ran down his left cheek.  
  
The image on the screen changed. Now, the caption read 'Lloyd #859 12/18/92. Jamie was a little older, maybe twelve or thirteen. Her hair was still long but her eyes, the girls eyes had changed. Jamie's eyes had grown more…maddened. She stared at the floor of her cell with a delusional expression on her face. Suddenly, Jamie started laughing, "Hahaha! They're all gonna die! Hahaha!" Jamie wrapped her fingers around her long black hair as she laughed. Drool began falling from her lips as she shouted, "HAHAHA! He's gonna kill all of them!" She began pulling on her hair. Her laughter growing increasingly more maniacal. She ripped two clumps of hair right from her scalp. John winced at the gruesome sight.  
  
The image changed again, now the caption read 'Lloyd 16662 01/15/95. Jamie was sitting quietly on her bed huddled in a ball. Her vacant stare not focused on anything, she was just zoning out. She twirled a loch of hair and amused herself when the door to her cell opened. Jamie sat up surprised and her expression changed to horror and anger. Three doctors entered her room along with a nurse with blonde hair. The doctors grabbed Jamie by the arms as she kicked and screamed, "No! Please don't do this! Let me go!" They held her down while the nurse approached her. She took out a needle and injected something into Jamie's arm. Jamie's words became slurred, "Please don't let them do this to me…" Jamie fell unconscious and the doctors carried her out of the cell.  
  
John looked at Dr. Wynn and shouted angrily, "What he fuck did you do to her!" Dr. Wynn smiled at John and pointed to the screen and said, "This." The screen changed to another date 'Lloyd 17136 07/11/95' Jamie was sitting on her bed rocking back and forth. Her hair was cut short now most likely to keep her from pulling it out. She was talking quietly to herself, trying not to cry as she rubbed her hands over the large bulge in her stomach, "I'm sorry mommy. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry Rachel…please forgive me." The pregnant girl sighed and looked at her stomach.  
  
Jamie smiled and then looked up at the screen and lifted her middle finger, "You're not going to win." She lifted her hands and balled them into fists. Jamie brought her fists down hard on her stomach and let out a painful cry as she punched herself in the stomach. She punched herself again and again. Jamie was trying to kill the baby inside her to prevent it from succumbing to the same fate as her and everyone else in her family. Jamie turned to her bed and ripped her hand into her mattress. She pulled out a spring and tried to bend it into a spear. She aimed and was about to stab herself in the stomach when two doctors came in and struggled to stop her. One of them punched her in the face to knock her out. The other guard said, "We'll have to put her in a straight jacket again."  
  
The image changed one last time to a new caption which read 'Lloyd 17759 10/30/95.' Jamie was sitting on the floor of her cell looking at the floor. She was talking to her stomach, "I wont let them get you. Mary will help us, she has to. We wont let him get us ok?" Suddenly she arched her back and began screaming, "Oh god! Not yet! No, please wait until we get out! Ahh!" Jamie clutched her abdomen as the contractions started. The door opened and a group of doctors entered with a stretcher. Jamie looked up at their masked faces and pleaded, "No! Please, just let me go and I wont tell anybody. No! Don't take my baby!" She screamed again as another contraction started. The doctors lifted her up onto the stretcher and strapped her in. She screamed in agony as they wheeled her out of the room.  
  
Dr. Wynn stopped the tape and looked at John, "And you wanted to know…" Wynn pointed at Jamie's corpse and said, "Now you know." Dr. Wynn turned and looked at Stephen. The child was sniffling back tears. Wynn put the remote back in his pocket, "That was nine years ago as of midnight last night. Happy birthday Stephen." Stephen began kicking and screaming, "It's not true! It's not true!"  
  
A security guard suddenly walked up to Dr. Wynn, "Sir, Dr. Wallace and Thom Doyle are on the ground floor, they're right next to C wing of the patient ward." Dr. Wynn lifted an eyebrow, "What about Michael." The security guard coughed and muttered. Wynn grew frustrated, "Well spit it out man!" The guard leaned in and said, "That's the other thing sir. We detected a change in the water pressure and well, the whole sewer's been flooded. We can't locate Myers or the Sheriff."  
  
Dr. Wynn glared and looked at the guard, "Well find him! And don't let Dr. Wallace or Doyle escape the building. I want them both dead!" The guard turned and ran off in a hurry as Wynn looked at his brethren. The bowed and began chanting in Latin. Wynn smiled and looked back at John. John was staring out into empty space with the most sorrowful look on his face. John was utterly broken. Watching his lover die had shattered his mind and spirit. All that was left inside him was emptiness. A hole that could only be filled with vengeance.  
  
While John and Stephen sat in shock and sorrow, Thom was desperately fighting to save his son. "Lindsay! C'mon we have to keep moving!" Thom had managed to stand up and was tugging on Lindsay's right arm. Dr. Wallace groaned and opened her eyes. The fatigued battered woman stood up and leaned on her good leg. Thom clutched the rifle and looked around their surroundings. They were in some kind of loading dock.  
  
Lindsay groggily looked around, she noticed the open manhole behind her and gasped. Thom looked and gently put his hand on her shoulder, "It's ok, he's gone. Washed away like a rat." Lindsay smiled wearily and said, "When will this night end…" Thom brought his hand up under her chin and lifted her lowered eyes up to meet his, "Hey, you did good…" Lindsay blushed and stared into Thom's deep eyes.  
  
Lindsay snapped back to reality and looked around, "We're in the loading docks. This is where patients get dropped off or picked up for transfer. We're so close to the central offices!" Lindsay, thinking she had gained her second wind began running towards the exit. Thom watched as she stepped on her bad leg; cursed out loud; and fell onto her knees. He walked over to her and helped her up, "We need to get to the basement again. I know Wynn's cult is down there, that's where they were before." Lindsay rummaged through her damp coat pockets and pulled out a dripping key card. She ran it through the door's slot and it clicked.  
  
Lindsay turned to Thom and said, "Um, I think you should know…" Thom cocked his head and lifted and eyebrow, "What?" Lindsay blinked and said, "We're going to have to go through one of the patient wards. It's not like the one I was in. That one looked as if it had been abandoned for years…" Thom sighed and held the rifle steady, "Well let's go." Lindsay turned back and opened the door.  
  
As Thom followed, he thought about his past. What he hadn't mentioned to Lindsay; what she already knew from her background check on him; was that Thom had spent several years in a mental hospital shortly after the horrifying events of 1978. He had been committed by his parents after suffering from severe post traumatic stress. Thom had never told anyone this, not even Kara. He knew seeing those patients; hearing those screams and babblings; was going to be difficult but Thom was determined to find Stephen. He'd walk through the gates of hell for his son.  
  
Thom and Lindsay traveled deeper into the recesses of Smith's Grove, completely unaware of the macabre nightmare that awaited them. All the while, John and Stephen grew closer and closer to the moment of truth, to be killed; sacrificed by a group of delusional people led by a maniacal self proclaimed messiah. What none of them could have realized was that back in Haddonfield; in the shattered confines of Thom's own home; Kara was become more and more vulnerable to the evil growing inside her son.  
  
TBC  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Only a few more to go and you wont believe what I have in store for these folks! Keep those awesome reviews coming, I love em! Even the criticisms are welcome, I like to get input!  
  
Lizz 


	21. The Prodigy

Here we are people! I finally updated YAY! Enjoy!

Rated R: For strong horror content, violence and language.

Chapter 21: The Prodigy

Prodigy: A person with exceptional talents or powers, a portentous sign or event; an omen.

Smith's Grove Warren County Sanitarium

November 1st 1963

8:15 AM

It was a crisp cold morning in Haddonfield Illinois, the rain had come and gone during the early morning hours and a cold chill now blew through the town. Quiet whispers and murmurs flew around as the gossip started to spread. The wind chilled lawns and exposed naked breath as the previous nights storm left the browning grass sleek with dewdrops. The sister was dead. The child was locked up. The parents were leaving town.

The quiet little suburbs of Haddonfield were now stuck in a thick layer of gloom which had seeped into the town overnight. The morning fog was thick, like an ominous sign of that which was to follow.

Dr. Loomis pulled into the front parking lot of Smith's Grove and turned the engine off. He sat quietly in his driver's seat pondering the weather. It wasn't unusual to have fog after a rainy night but this morning it seemed to blot out anything more then ten feet in front of you.

Sam reached over to the passenger seat and grabbed his briefcase then got out of his old Rolls Royce and quietly slammed the door. He had bought this car used at a reasonable price but it seemed to fancy for his liking. Sam shivered and adjusted his turtle neck so it would warm his neck more. He buttoned up his brown suite and moved hastily towards the hospital.

Sam walked inside and felt the warmth from the heaters relax his body. He ran his black leather gloved handthroughhisthinninghair and started walking down the hallway. Sam's wet shoes squeaked as he walked down the hallway towards his office. Sam was nonchalantly checking his watch as he walked past Dr. Wynn's office. "Sam! Could you come in her for a moment please?" Dr. Loomis' boss called out from his office when he saw the middle aged balding man walk by.

Sam backed up and cautiously entered his boss's office, "Yes Terrence?" Dr. Wynn smiled pleasantly and motioned for Sam to sit down, "Sam my friend, hell of a morning eh?" Sam smiled and took his gloves off. He brushed a hand over his black moustache and set his gloves in his lap, "Your right about that Terrence."

Dr. Wynn leaned forward in his desk and his face grew serious, "Sam, I wanted to talk to you about your first patient today." Loomis looked up surprised and lifted a surprise, "Sir? Why, is there something different about this one?" Terrence leaned back and adjusted his tie as he continued, "As a matter of fact Sam, there is. This is not your run of the mill introverted isolated child. Michael Myers is for all intensive purposes clinically fine. At least he was until about ten thirty last night."

Sam narrowed his expressive eyes and asked, "What happened?" Dr. Wynn looked down at the case file on his desk and reached out to push it towards Dr. Loomis, "It's all in there Sam. I should mention that the department is already close to maximum capacity as far as children residents go. So if you're able to make a diagnosis, let me know so we can see about getting him transferred to a less eh 'secure' facility."

Sam opened the case file and began thumbing through the police report and medical examiners report. Same slowly stood up and reached for his briefcase with his free hand, "I'll let you know what I find Terrence. Good day." Same walked out of the room silently before Terrence could reply. Terrence pulled a cigar out of his coat pocket and lit is before picking up his phone and making several calls.

Sam walked down the hallway completely engrossed in the case file. He reached into his jacket pocket and found his keys. He stopped at his office without even looking and unlocked the door while he continued to read. Sam quietly read aloud as he removed his overcoat and set his briefcase on his desk, "Severe dissonance, distanced and extremely non-responsive to visual or verbal stimuli. Total lack of moral reasoning and judgment…unwilling to communicate with nurses and doctors…appears to be physically healthy…"

Dr. Loomis closed the case file and walked left his office. He started walking quickly down to the end of the hallway and scurried down the flight of stairs. He entered the lower level and walked into the children's ward.

He approached the waiting room and saw two people…not quite people anymore. The woman was sitting on the couch smoking what looked to be her fiftieth cigarette of the day and the man was burning a hole into the carpet with his pacing. Dr. Loomis walked in and cleared his throat. The two people looked up at him with pink bloodshot eyes. Dr. Loomis smiled warmly and said, "Hello, sorry to have kept you waiting. I'm Dr. Samuel Loomis; I'll be looking after your son. Do you need anything? Water or some coffee?"

The man; Peter Myers; stared at Dr. Loomis as if looking right through him. His sweaty face was frozen in an expression of anguish. He didn't blink, just stared at Dr. Loomis and said, "There's nothing left." He walked forward; past Sam; and left the room. Audrey stood up and left as well leaving Sam standing there in confused silence.

Dr. Loomis exited the waiting room and went next door. He entered the interview room and approached one of the orderlies, "Is he ready to speak?" The orderly shook his head and said, "Dr. Loomis, I don't know if he'll ever be ready to speak. He hasn't said a word since he's been here." Dr. Loomis nodded and said, "I'd like to see him now." The orderly nodded and headed into the back of the room towards a single white door marked 'Authorized Personnel Only'. Sam followed the orderly and watched him unlock the door.

Sam quietly surveyed the room and spoke to the orderly, "Leave us please." The orderly nodded and walked past, but as he did he whispered to Loomis, "I'll be right outside keeping watch Doc, lemme know if you need anything." The orderly left the room and closed and locked the door leaving Dr. Loomis alone with the patient.

Dr. Loomis stood there for a moment decided how to go about this. He quietly walked towards the table and pulled up a chair. He sat down quietly and just looked at the child. Sam thought about how small this child was. How could someone so fragile have caused the kind of mayhem he saw in the crime scene photographs? That poor girl had been butchered and this was the person responsible?

The child sat perfectly still, looking downward at the ground. His hands were placed neatly folded in his lap. His dark brown curls fell in his face, blocking out any facial features.

Sam crossed his arms and sternly said, "Michael." The boy did not move. Sam thought for a moment then said again in the same monotone voice, "Michael. Look at me."

The child did not move at first, but then; slowly; he lifted his head and looked up at Dr. Loomis. His eyes caught the doctor off guard and Sam found himself trapped in the child's stare. Those eyes, they were so…dark.

Sam couldn't look away, he was being sucked in, the child's eyes were cold as ice, they showed no signs of any conscious, or soul. They were the eyes of a merciless killer and this realization sent a chill up the good doctor's spine.

Sam set the case file on the table and pulled a pen out of his coat pocket. He began jotting down a few noted based on his observations. He noticed how Michael rarely blinked. His face was neutral and blank. It barely resembled a face really, more like a mask.

Sam clicked his pen a couple of times and set down on the table. He flipped through the papers and found a few blank sheets. Dr. Loomis took one of the sheets of paper and slid it across the table to Michael. The boy looked down at the paper but didn't make a move. Dr. Loomis set the pen next to the paper and quietly said, "Michael, I'd like to know what's on your mind. If you won't tell me, then maybe you'd like to draw it. Just draw whatever you're feeling, go on it's alright."

Sam waited but the child didn't move, "Go on Michael, show me what you're thinking." The boy still made no move and Dr. Loomis felt a slight chill in the empty room and asked the child, "Are you cold?" The child said nothing but Sam could see he was shivering slightly.

Sam got up to try and offer the child a blanket. He walked over to a nearby couch and lifted the blanket from it. As he was returning he noticed Michael holding the pen. Sam smiled to himself and walked up behind the boy. He noticed a figure drawn on the piece of paper.

Dr. Loomis leaned in next to Michael and peered down at the drawing. It was an odd symbol, a line with a triangle attached to it. Dr. Loomis reached forward to grab the paper when the child suddenly and viciously swiped the pen across the side of Sam's face.

Sam yelled out in pain and stumbled back. He looked up at the small boy in shock and surprise and fell onto his rear. He brought his hand up to his cheek and felt the sharp stinging. His fingers had blood on them. Michael clutched the blood-tipped pen in his fist and sat still staring across the room at the blank white brick wall.

The orderly came rushing and saw Loomis sitting on the ground nursing his cut cheek, "Jesus what the hell happened?" Dr. Loomis didn't respond, he just looked at the silent boy. The orderly marched over to Michael and yanked the pen out of his hand, "I'm taking him to his room now Doctor, you should go see one of the nursed about that."

Dr. Loomis slowly stood up and watched as the orderly yanked Michael out of the room by the small hand which had slashed his face. He looked back down at his bloody hand and felt the stinging on his face. 'That was no boy…' Dr. Loomis thought to himself, 'that was a monster.'

Smith's Grove Warren County Sanitarium

October 31st 2004

Thom and Lindsay panted as they ran through the empty confines of Smith's Grove Sanitarium. Lindsay's damp shoes squeaked as she moved and her long trench coat left a dripping trail of water behind her. Thom was nervously looking around as they rounded a corner and entered a pale dark hallway with white walls and marble floors. Lindsay turned to Thom and stopped, "We're in the C-Wing." Lindsay looked down at her feet and saw the puddle she was standing in. She quickly removed her clinging trench coat and tossed it to the ground.

Thom froze suddenly. Lindsay looked at him and said, "What is it?" Thom lifted a finger and quietly shushed her, "Listen" he whispered. Lindsay froze and quietly listened to the cold empty hallways. Slowly, she began to hear the noise. A vague echo like mass of…voices. Lindsay strained to listen and quietly asked, "What is that?" It was at this point that Thom caught sight of one of the patient doors in the hallway. His eyes widened as he noticed it was slightly ajar. Thom looked around the hallway and noticed all the doors were slightly ajar, barely noticeable unless you were looking.

Thom started walking forward, towards the hallway corner, towards the sounds. Lindsay rushed up after him and asked, "What!" Thom moved quickly and Lindsay had to limp to keep up. Thom quietly asked, "Linz…where are all the patients?" Lindsay stopped in her tracks as Thom continued on. Thom disappeared around the corner as Lindsay looked around at all the patient cell doors. Her lip quivered in confused anguish. Her head snapped up to the corner Thom had just rounded when she heard him call, "Lindsay!" Lindsay began limping towards the corridor. She saw the shadow of a man coming around the corner and picked up pace, "Thom! I'm coming, I'm almost-"Lindsay was just about to round the corner when she bumped into…not Thom.

Her voice was cut off in shock as a scraggly looking man bumped into her. The man was dirty and had missing teeth; his white patient garment had urination stains in it. The man looked at Lindsay and started rapidly patting her shoulder while babbling, "Little girl lost in the woods, big bad wolf gonna eat ya! Hehe!" Lindsay pulled away from him nervously and slid past him while shouting, "Thom?"

She turned around the corner and a shocked expression washed over her face. Dozens of mental patients; the entire c-wing; were wandering around out of their cells. Lindsay gasped and frantically began searching for Thom, "Thom! Where are you!?" She saw him at the other end of the hallway being molested by an old woman.

Lindsay started pushing her way through the moaning, babbling crowd of schizophrenics and tried to reach Thom. Thom was fending off the hungry hands of an old woman who was making unwanted advances towards him. She giggled like a little girl and whispered, "C'mon Daddy, no one has to know." Thom pushed her away disgustedly and shouted to Lindsay, "Linz! We have to find Stephen!"

Lindsay cried out in discomfort and disgust as dozens of hands touched her, groped her, and grabbed her. The mental patients began to sing loudly together like a drunken tavern crowd, "Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream, make him the cutest that I've ever seen…"

Lindsay screamed out, "Stop it! All of you!" She managed to claw her way through the crown of patients and reached Thom. Thom was still fending off the old woman. Lindsay grabbed Thom by the arm and yanked the rifle out of his hand. She looked at all the patients and shouted, "Go back to your cells now!" Then she lifted the rifle and aimed it at a surveillance camera. She pulled the trigger and a loud shot fired causing the camera to explode in a stream of sparks. The patients all started screaming, some cried, others laughed. The old lady started clawing at her face and shouting, "Deliver us from evil! Deliver us from evil!" Lindsay pulled Thom away from the old lady and the two of them hurriedly walked to the end of the hallway and found a staircase.

Lindsay looked at the sign on the door as Thom approached it and shouted, "Wait! Don't!" Thom didn't listen and plowed through the door, causing the fire alarm to go off. Thom looked back as Lindsay sighed, "Too late now." Thom started heading down the stairs and called back to Lindsay, "Well it's not like they don't already know we're here."

As Thom and Lindsay climbed down the stairs, Lindsay asked, "How the hell did they get out of their cells." Thom snorted in disgust, "How do you think Linz? Didn't you do your research? How did Michael escape the first time back in 78'? All the patients got loose and took over the hospital. It had to have been Wynn."

Lindsay limped down the stairs and replied, "I still don't know why the hell he would spend his life devoted to such madness." Thom looked back at Lindsay and said, "Because he belongs in one of those cells just like those patients."

Meanwhile; in the front parking lot of Smith's Grove Sanitarium; the rain continued to fall from the sky although it had lessened in force a great deal. Water rushed into the ditches and manholes. Suddenly, one manhole, just nearby the front entrance, began shaking slightly. The cover popped up and five shaking fingers clawed out from underneath.

A shivering, bleeding, possibly dying Sheriff Grayson pulled himself up and out of the manhole all the while clutching his angry shoulder wounds with his left hand. He collapsed onto the moist blacktop and caught his breath.

It had been purely by the will of god that Mark had managed to grab that ladder when he did. The rushing water had flushed him through the sewer system and he knew he'd only have enough strength to reach his arm up once. He did so and just held it in the air hoping and praying that he found something to grab. He then used every ounce of energy he had to force himself up that ladder. His left arm was damn near limp and as he tried to stand up again, it fell uselessly to his side.

Mark strained his eyes to make out the blurry cars parked around him. He had spent so long down in pitch black that the lights from the hospital were hurting his eyes. He locked his sights onto the police car and slowly started walking forward, stumbling to the ground several times. Eventually he made it to the police car and slowly opened the driver door. Mark fell into the car on the driver's seat and used his right hand to try and reach for the radio. He swung the radio piece up onto the seat and used his trembling fingers to turn the machine on.

Between coughs and in a strained hoarse voice, Mark called out for help, "All units…all units. I need ba-backup right away at Smith's Grove over." A voice came over the radio, "This is Ford over, what the hell's going on Sheriff?" Mark strained to speak and coughed up his reply, "It's all gone to hell here! We need all the men we can spare, bring em' all. He's here, he's here…" Ford replied, "Who's there sir!?"

Mark's eyes bulged and his face turned red as he screamed out the answer, "Michael Myers! God damn it now get your asses down here now!" Mark collapsed and passed out as Ford continued to call out for back up.

Doyle Residence

11:55 pm

Kara walked out of the bathroom wearing a dark green robe. She pulled her damp medium length hair around back and tied it into a ponytail. Kara sighed and looked at the wall where Diane had been found. She closed her eyes and looked away as she began walking down the stairs.

She found Kyle pacing back and forth in the living room while talking on his walkie-talkie, "I can't just leave! They need us to be here in case you know who decides to come back. He's there? I'll send Gibbs but I'm staying to take care of Kara. Over." Kyle lowered his radio and looked up as Kara walked into the living room. Kara crossed her arms and said, "What's going on now." Kyle rubbed the back of his neck, he didn't want to just blurt it out, he wasn't about to freak her out again, "Uh, well, Sheriff Grayson just sent an all units bulletin out. He needs all able men to get down to Smith's Grove Sanitarium." Kara's eyes widened, "What? Why! Did something happen? Is Thom ok!?" Kyle quickly replied, "No, no, we don't know what's going on yet. Their sending police choppers there and we're going to send anybody currently out on patrol. That means their going to have to leave the ambulance crash site I'm afraid…"

Kara's hands were shaking, she was near her breaking point, "You tell your sheriff that they better find my son." Kyle was about to say something when Officer Gibbs interrupted them by walking into the room, "Hey Henderson, did you get the message? Ford said Sheriff wants our asses at the funny farm pronto!" Kyle looked at Leo and then back at Kara, "You go on without me, I'm not leaving Kara and Dan here alone. I'll stay and keep guard, you go on." Kyle smiled and Kara smiled back gratefully.

Leo looked up at Kara and then back at Kyle, "Alright, I'm outta here. I'll keep you posted." Leo stepped over the broken glass and walked out the front door. Kyle watched as Leo took off in the police car. Kyle could see his breath; he closed the door and looked at Kara, "It's getting pretty cold out there."

Kara turned around and started walking back up the stairs, "I have to check on Dan." She disappeared up the stairs and left Kyle to stand alone in the living room. Kyle walked over to the couch and picked up his rifle. He made sure it was loaded and then walked out the front door and stood out on the porch guarding the house.

Kara made her way down the upstairs hallway and stopped at Dan's room, "Honey, Thom and Stephen will be home soon so don't worry ok? Just say a prayer for them." Kara reached up and placed a hand delicately on the white door. She leaned up against it and listened for any sounds. She heard nothing, "He must be asleep."

Kara walked down to the end of the hall and went into her and Thom's room. She closed the door behind her. Kara looked at her empty bed and hugged herself tightly, she wished Thom could be there to hold her in his strong arms. Kara looked up at the ceiling, and quietly spoke, "Please god, bring them home safely."

Unknown to Kara, Dan was not asleep. The boy slowly sat up on his bed and looked at his alarm clock. It was five minutes until midnight. Dan stared out into the darkness. He stood up and walked over to his window. The young man peered out his window with hollow eyes and saw Kyle on the front porch standing guard. Dan started backing up and disappeared into the darkness…

Meanwhile

"Please stop it! No more!" Stephen cried out with a hoarse voice. Dr. Wynn looked at the broken child and smiled, "Don't worry; it will all be over soon. Once its midnight, Halloween will be over and the prophecy will be fulfilled." Stephen meekly answered, "P-prophecy?" Wynn's eyes were glazed with madness, "Yes, your father will complete his destiny by killing you and John, then the curse will be passed onto your surrogate brother." Stephen closed his eyes, "No! That's not true!" His daddy would never hurt him, he loved him and mommy and Danny.

John didn't speak, all he could think about was that blurred image of Molly's anguished face from the projector screen. God, was she really dead? He hadn't heard anything from Molly since he'd arrived in Haddonfield except for that phone message she'd left him the night she said she'd arrived. All John could do now was wait and pray somebody stopped this madness.

Dr. Wynn lifted up his coat sleeve and peered at his watch. A sickeningly menacing smile spread across his face, "It's almost midnight! The curse will soon be finished passing!

"Not so fast you mother fucker!" Dr. Wynn turned around in anger and shouted, "Who dares!?" The cult members all began whispering in shock as Dr. Wynn saw who had spoken. Thom and Lindsay had found their way into the cult lair and Thom was aiming the rifle at Wynn.

John looked up in relief and Stephen began crying with joy, "Daddy!" Thom looked around the room in disgust. He saw Stephen and John both tied up to the chairs. A wave of rage shot through Thom as he saw what they had done to his son. Dr. Wynn smiled and said, "You're too late Mr. Doyle. It's already begun, you can't stop fate." Thom poised the rifle and spat, "Fuck fate, I can stop you."

Lindsay quickly came out from behind Thom and whispered in his ear, "Thom there are people all over the place, we're outnumbered." Thom looked around the room and shouted, "If any of you freaks even breaths, I'm blowing your boss's head off!" The cult members all grew silent and still, glaring at the insolent man.

Thom looked at Dr. Wynn and narrowed his eyes, "What you've done to my family, to this town…I should have blown your head off in court." Dr. Wynn laughed and said, "Yes but then you'd be behind bars and not here about to die."

Lindsay noticed the altar full of corpses and gasped, "Thom look." Thom turned and saw the bodies. His eyes widened in shock and filled with angry tears as he read the tombstones, "So, you've gone to all these lengths, and for what? Some shitty family reunion. You're sick Wynn."

Stephen was crying and shouted out, "Daddy I want to go home!" John looked at Thom and Lindsay and said, "Wynn's psycho! He's gonna sacrifice us and thinks some curse is going to make Dan go crazy."

Thom froze and remembered what happened nine years ago. He remembered Kara talking about how Dan drew a knife on his grandpa. It hit Thom as he remembered all the police reports about Jamie stabbing her step mother and Laurie strode going insane and decapitating that paramedic. It all made sense now. They were going to do the same thing to Dan which meant…Thom gasped, "Kara!"

Thom quickly turned to Lindsay and gave her the rifle. Lindsay almost dropped it and shouted in bewilderment, "What are you doing!" Thom looked at Wynn and said, "If he moves, shoot him." Thom started walking over towards Stephen. His angry glare towards Wynn shifted as he turned towards his innocent son. His eyes warmed and filled with fear for his son's safety. Thom reached his arms out to Stephen as he walked towards him and said, "Its ok son, I'm coming to get you. I'll untie you and then we can go home."

Stephen started squirming in his seat impatient for his dad to release him, "Daddy! Don't let the boogeyman get me again!" Thom closed his eyes and tried not to burst into tears at that moment as he thought about how terrified his son must have been tonight, in the school, in their own home, in the ambulance and now here. Wynn would pay for what he had done to Thom's family but right now Thom needed to focus on getting his son safely home to Kara. After that he would deal with Wynn and Dan.

Thom reached his son and placed a moist hand on the little boy's face, "Let's go home kiddo." He started fumbling with the ropes trying to untie his son. John watched and waited impatiently, keeping his eyes on Dr. Wynn. He was suspicious of how calm Wynn was right now.

As Thom struggled to free his son, Lindsay kept the rifle aimed at her boss. Dr. Wynn grew smug and said, "Well Dr. Wallace, You've finally joined the brigade. I'm surprised it took you so long to figure everything out. Did you use you're little keycards to get out of your cell? I'd have thought you'd just give up and let yourself rot in their just like Jamie did." Lindsay's eye twitched and she angrily shouted, "Shut up!"

Terrence laughed and took a step forward, "Or what, you'll shoot me? Please Dr. Wallace, you haven't got the spine. You've always been spineless, ever since you were a little girl and you let your baby-sitter die."

Lindsay felt tears in her eyes, "I'm warning you…" Terrence started slowly walking forward and Lindsay found herself backing up, still hiding behind the rifle. "You are weak Lindsay, that's why you got into this position." Terrence matter-of-factly said. Lindsay's eyes widened, "What do you mean?" Terrence clucked with laughter and said, "Oh please! Do you really think someone like you could have gotten a position like this without someone like me pulling a hell of a lot of strings?"

Lindsay shuddered with disgust, "You played me! You used me!" Dr. Wynn's smile faded and he angrily shot back, "You let yourself succumb to the lust for power and prestige! You allowed yourself to be blinded to what was really going on. Your pride and vanity led you to where you are Wallace. I counted on your weak will for power so I could use it to my advantage. You brought all the sheep to the slaughter; Sara, Thom, Daniel…Laurie."

Lindsay screamed out in anger, "Stop it!" She looked at John suddenly; his deadened eyes stared at her with contempt. Lindsay looked up at Laurie's corpse. She stared at Sara's body and let the tears fall freely, "John I, your mother, I never meant to…I just wanted to help stop him!" John looked down at his lap and Lindsay felt the pain in her heart grow.

Wynn was right, this was her fault. Their blood was on her hands. She found Laurie and gave the information to Wynn. She led Sara to her death and now because of her, they were all here. Lindsay started backing up as the guilt overwhelmed her. She didn't notice the blackness behind her, or that it was a doorway from which something was emerging…

Dr. Wynn smiled and calmly said, "Oh Dr. Wallace?" Lindsay looked at him in horror. Stephen saw the shape forming right behind Lindsay and gasped, he couldn't speak. Thom slowly started to turn around as Lindsay continued to back up. Dr. Wynn stared at Lindsay with steely eyes and said flatly, "You're fired."

Lindsay's eyes went from confusion to blind pain in an instant as a sharp pain seared into her back. Stephen found his voice and felt it leap up and out of his throat. The small boy started shaking and let out a guttural cry. Thom and John both shouted in unison, "Lindsay!"

Lindsay screamed as Michael appeared behind her and slammed his knife into her back. Her throaty scream echoed in the room as she was lifted off her feet. She dropped the rifle and felt neurons shooting through her legs and spine. She lost the feeling in her lower half as her legs twitched.

Thom quickly finished untying Stephen and began running towards Lindsay's aid. Michael lifted Lindsay high and Stephen felt the terrifying sense of déjà vu from earlier that night when he had seen Dan's teacher in the same position.

Michael threw Lindsay across the room and her body went flying off the knife and crashed into the stone wall next to them. Dr. Wynn raised his hands into the air and began shouting like a preacher, "Praise the inflicted one! He has come to deliver the final sacrifices!" All the cult members got on their knees and began murmuring and chanting as Wynn shouted.

Thom stopped in his tracks as he stared at Michael. He looked behind the shape and saw Lindsay lying in a pool of blood, staining her shirt and long black hair, her eyes were flickering open and closed. She was trapped in a place between life and death and Thom knew it. He saw the rifle lying by her side and thought about his options. He could leave Stephen and grab the rifle to blast Michael or Wynn, or he could grab Stephen and try and escape.

"Hey Thom! We gotta get the fuck out of here man!" Thom quickly whirled around and shouted, "Oh shit, John!" John was still tied up to the chair and was struggling like mad to escape. Thom realized his fatal error in turning away from Michael. He slowly turned around only to find the shape right behind him.

Michael slammed his head into Thom's and the man fell back hard. Thom rolled over onto his stomach to try and crawl away but Michael lifted up his grimy boot and slammed it down on Thom's shoulder. Thom cried out in pain as this was the side where he had nearly torn all the muscles in his arm from reaching for that sewer valve handle.

Michael began crushing his boot into Thom's shoulder and Thom could feel the bone starting to crack and break. Stephen stood up suddenly and shouted at the top of his lungs, "STOP IT NOW!"

Dr. Wynn let out a terrifying laugh and his words echoed through the room, "It is time! The hour is midnight and the prophecy will be fulfilled!" At that moment Thom felt the pressure around his shoulder decrease as Michael lifted his foot off the man. Thom rolled over and looked up at Michael in shock, the shape started to tremble. He was trembling!

John peered over his shoulder in confusion as the Shape brought his shaking hands up to his head and thrust his head back as if her were letting out some massive scream. His silent scream filled the room as the onlookers stared.

Thom seized the opportunity while Michael was thrashing about in what seemed to be pain. He quickly crawled across the floor over to Lindsay and grabbed the rifle. He looked into her bluing face and saw her glazy eyes, "I'll be back for you soon." Thom grasped Lindsay's weak hand and gave it a squeeze, "I promise." All Lindsay could do was quietly whisper the words, "Michael…son…" before passing out.

Thom turned his sights back to Michael and slowly stood up. Dr. Wynn didn't notice because he was too engrossed in watching what was happening to his vessel, "It's happening, Thorn is leaving his body and entering another's! The curse is being transferred. Now all we need to do is spill the blood of the final sacrifices and the transference will be finished!" Dr. Wynn looked almost giddy.

Michael started thrashing his head around as if it were about to explode. Suddenly, he fell to his knees and his hands fell to his sides. His head slowly lowered and he just sat there kneeling, seemingly unconscious, like an empty shell.

Thom heard Wynn and hastily moved past Michael and over to his son, "We have to move! There going to come for you two now." Stephen was standing at John's side and began pleading with his father, "Hurry! He's still tied up!"

Thom looked at John and said, "Close your eyes." John gave a perplexed, Thom nodded and John understood. He closed his eyes as Thom lifted the butt-end of the rifle and began pounding it into the chair supporting John. The stiff wood cracked and broke and John fell backwards onto the floor. Thom reached downward to help John untie the knots and then helped John up to his feet.

Thom looked at John and then reached down and scooped Stephen into his arms. His heart filled with relief as he held his boy in his arms after what seemed like an eternity. Thom turned and looked across the cult lair over to Lindsay lying on her side unconscious. Thom and Stephen rushed over to Lindsay's aid and didn't even notice that Dr. Wynn had walked over to Michael.

The madman stood in front of the shape and looked down at him like a king about to knight a great man, "You have served your purpose for over forty years. Now it is time to slaughter your last of kin and pass the knife onto a fresh new vessel." Michael slowly rose to his feet. He turned around and watched as Thom and Stephen tried to revive Lindsay. He turned his attention to John who was standing in front of the alter. Wynn hissed, "Now Michael, finish it! Kill them both and fulfill your destiny!" Michael grasped his knife tightly and began walking towards John.

John, unaware of the approaching horror, was standing in front of his mother's corpse. He placed a shaky hand on the cracked tombstone and a single tear fell from his already puffy pink eyes. So much had been taken from him, his childhood, his father, his mother, Jamie, Molly…"

John opened his eyes suddenly when he heard Thom scream out, "John! He's right behind you!!" John whirled around and found himself face to face with that horrible blood spattered rubber mask. Michael shot his hand out and tightly grasped John around the throat. He began squeezing and John felt his windpipe slowly closing up. His air supply was being cut off. Michael stared at John's terrified angry eyes with no expression of any kind, just two hollow sockets of death.

John fell to his knees, his eyes were bulging and his face was turning purple as he choked. John brought his weakening hands up around Michael's arm but as the life slowly drained out of him, so his grasp did loosen. Wynn stood behind Michael and hissed, "Do it now Michael! End the curse and be released!" Michael started trembling as if he was fighting to keep his grip, but his grip loosened and John dropped limply to the ground-still alive.

Wynn turned his cold gaze to Thom and Stephen who stared at them with horrified expressions. Stephen looked down at Lindsay and started to cry, "Help us…please help us." Thom was holding her hand tightly but had to let go as Michael began walking towards them. Thom stood up and quietly whispered to Stephen, "Stay with her." Stephen tried to cry out but before he could Thom began running towards Michael while aiming the rifle.

Michael quickly smacked Thom aside with one swift slap. Thom fell to the hard ground and crashed into the Thorn shaped layout of red candles. The candles tipple over and slowly caused the tiny flames to grow larger. Michael was now hovering over Stephen who was clutching Lindsay's unconscious body in his arms.

Wynn walked past Thom who was clutching his rips which felt like they'd been cracked. Wynn looked down at Thom and smiled, "You've come so far, and for what? To watch the child die at the hands of his real father." Wynn looked back up to Michael and said, "Now, do it. Kill your son Michael. Kill for Thorn. Kill and be free."

Thom struggled in between short gasps for air to shout out, "His…son? Stephen…no!" Thom realized the dark truth that he'd spent nine years praying never came to reality. Stephen was Michael's son and Michael was about to kill him. Dan...Kara…Stephen…they were all damned.

Thom felt the tears fall freely as he uselessly tried to crawl towards Stephen's rescue. He was so close; Stephen stared up in horror as Michael lifted his butcher's knife and prepared to make his final kill. Thom; a broken man; tried as a father to whisper something to his son, "Stephen…I love you…"

Suddenly; just as Michael was about to strike; something happened. He caught sight of his son's eyes. Stephen's terrified eyes stared frozen on those black holes in Michael's mask. That same expression of fear Stephen had shown at the high school, in his house, in the ambulance.

Michael felt a force deep inside him; it caused him to abruptly stop in his tracks. Wynn was caught off guard and watched in confusion. Michael stood frozen, his eyes actually seeing Stephen for the first time, not through the blinded sockets of a cursed monster, but through the eyes of a father. Michael slowly lowered his knife and tilted his head. Stephen stood up slowly in a mixture of terror and confusion. He was in awe and strangely drawn to the monster man.

Michael slowly knelt down on one knee so the two were at the same eye level. Stephen felt his body moving, he felt himself walking towards Michael but he couldn't stop himself, all he could do was stare into those black holes. Michael dropped the knife and it fell to the brick ground with an echoing clatter.

Thom was trying to stand up and reach his son, "Stephen, what are you doing…" Michael had really smacked Thom, he had hit his head earlier in the sewer and this fall to his ribs was taking its toll on him. All he could do was try and stand up and get to his son.

The cult members began to whisper to themselves in quiet confusion as Michael slowly lifted his hands almost as if to beckon the child towards him. Wynn angrily shouted, "Michael! What are you doing? Kill him!"

John was gasping for breath and slowly coming to. He looked up and saw his mother's skull staring down at him, his stomach churned and he sat up and tried to steady himself. He heard the cult members' whispers and looked to where the commotion was coming from. He saw Michael kneeling down, he saw Stephen slowly walking towards the boogeyman, ands he saw Thom just barely standing up.

John shouted, "Thom! Your son! Save him, don't you fail him, don't you dare let him down! Get to him now!" John was about to stand up when the flickering orange light caught his attention. He looked to the right of Thom and saw the knocked down pile of candles. He saw their flames dancing across the floor and noticed the empty gasoline can they were getting dangerously close to.

John sucked in his breath as the flames hit the can and lit it up from the inside. A trail of spilled gasoline began to come to life with fire and it began moving fairly quickly. John realized suddenly that he was doused in the gasoline and that the trail was leading the flames right to him! He barely had time to scream and roll over as the flames suddenly consumed him.

John screamed in agony as the fire coursed over his body, he quickly rolled over and managed to through himself into a large puddle of water that had formed from the tunnels flooding. Thom looked back at Thom and tried to shout out but his voice was barely heard.

Wynn looked back at John and smiled to himself, "Well, one down, one to go." Michael reached for Stephen and neither he nor his son heard John as he screamed in pain. All they could hear was the sounds of their own breathing. Stephen took one more step forward, over Lindsay's body and walked into Michael's embrace. Michael grasped Stephen's shoulders and they stood there in silence.

Thom was torn as to what to do, he could barely stand up and he needed to save Stephen but John was suffering to. Thom saw the smoke billow off of John as he rolled in the puddle to put the flames out. Thom made his decision, he turned around and started crawling towards John. He could here John crying out as he lie there in the puddle, partially burned but still alive.

The cultists had slowly started backing away from the small fire as it began to grow. Wynn hadn't noticed, he yelled at Michael again, "Damn it Michael! Kill him now!" Wynn turned in a huff and began walking towards the wall where the cultists were standing. An emergency fire axe was encased in a glass case mounted on the wall and Wynn walked over to it and kicked it. The glass shattered and he reached inside to grab the axe. He turned his angry glare back to Michael and Stephen. He started marching towards the two…

Stephen was completely taken in by those dark eyes, his mind began flashing images from his childhood, birthdays, holidays with Dan and mom and dad. Stephen quietly said, "Dad." Michael suddenly started convulsing and shaking and Stephen was snapped out of his daze, He realized where he was and who was clutching him and screamed very loudly.

Thom was tending to John when he heard Stephen's shriek. He looked down at John whose hair was smoking and whose face was black with smoke, his arms and legs were slightly burned but he was still alive. Thom turned and saw Michael shaking and Stephen struggling to get away from him. The man mustered all his strength and stood up again, he began limping as fast as he could towards his son just as Dr. Wynn was also approaching the two. Thom raced to try and beat Wynn but he just couldn't move fast enough.

Michael's shaking increased and a terrible howl suddenly filled the room, for the first time in over four decades, sound escaped Michael's ancient throat as he screamed in a mixture of rage and pain. He threw himself back and released Stephen who fell backwards next to Lindsay.

Meanwhile, just as Michael was howling in pain, Dan was in the bathroom with the door closed and locked. He clutched his head in a similar pain and suddenly smashed his head forward into the bathroom mirror. Large pieces of glass exploded into the bathroom counter and floor as a large trail of blood fell from Dan's forehead. He slowly stared into the shattered mirror as his hand reached for the counter drawer. He opened the drawer and pulled out a large straight razor…

Kara was in her room praying when she heard the noise. She jumped up suddenly and raced out of her bedroom. She flew down the hall and found the bathroom door slightly ajar, the lights were off...

Outside the Doyle house, officer Kyle Henderson was keeping watch, unfortunately he wasn't looking behind him as a dark figure slowly opened the front door. Kyle barely heard the creaking of the door opening; he slowly started to turn around to look behind him when hard force smashed over his head. Kyle felt the living daylights knocked out of him as a large flower vase was smashed over his head. He fell to the ground and an unseen force began dragging him off the porch and into the bushes near the house…

Kara had opened the bathroom door and stepped inside when she yelped in surprise. He quickly flipped the bathroom light on and jumped back; she had stepped in glass and cut her feet. She looked around in surprise and fear, the bathroom mirror was shattered, there was blood on the wall and the counter drawer had been pulled out…

Back at Smith's Grove, Michael's howls died down and he slumped back down. Stephen froze and stared at the man who wasn't moving. Stephen didn't notice his father trying desperately to get to him. He didn't notice John slowly sitting up and looking at his charred hands, and he didn't notice Wynn stomping towards him with the fire axe.

Wynn finally reached Michael and stood behind him. He raised the axe over Stephen just as the boy looked up and gasped in fright. Wynn was sweating profusely and his angry breath was hard, "If you won't kill the little bastard, then I'll do it myself!" Michael's head shot up and just as Dr. Wynn was about to smash the axe down on Stephen, Michael swiftly grabbed his knife and whirled around, he sharply jammed the knife into Terrence's stomach!

Terrence's face turned pale as he stood in shock. He stumbled back and dropped the axe. He looked down at the knife sticking out of his stomach and the burned hand holding it. Michael stood up and Wynn looked into his black eyes. For the first time in years, Terrence felt afraid, "Michael?" What Terrence saw in Michael's eyes was not the clouded gaze of a cursed man, it the angry glare of a monster. Those dark eyes were filled with rage and hatred. Michael was finally free, and he was very, very angry.

TBC

OK, so, here we are now folks, the second to last chapter to this story! Only one more to go, it's been a long time coming! I am SOOO SORRY I kept to all waiting so long. Was it worth it? Please say yes…lol seriously though, I meant to finish this chapter sooner but this semester has been so unbelievably busy! I literally haven't had time to work on it, but I sat down tonight and worked past midnight so I could finally finish this chapter. The next chapter will be the end to Halloween 9 Bloodline and I hope it kicks a whole bunch of ass! I have been working on this story for over a year now, from conception to completion and I am so happy that it turned out this great! Thanks to everyone for all the support even when I made you wait for so long! I promise it won't be this long of a wait for the last chapter.

Liz


	22. Legacy

So here we are; this is it, the final chapter. It's been a long time right? I know, I know, I should have finished this a long time ago but hopefully this chapter will make it all worth the wait. You know almost two years ago, the idea of writing a Halloween fanfic seemed ludicrous let alone having it actually get some feedback. Thank you so much to all who have written reviews, I have read them all. Hopefully you will all like this final installment in this story. However, don't expect a complete resolution because the story is far from over and you'll just have to wait until Halloween 10 which I have justly titled "REVELATIONS". But for now, enjoy the conclusion to Halloween: BLOODLINE

LanternLizzard

Chapter 22: Legacy

"You can't kill Damnation mister. It don't die like a man dies." –Rev. Sawyer to Dr. Loomis (Halloween 4)

Langdon Illinois

September 24 1996

The quiet suburban neighborhood peacefully welcomed the cool rain that moistened the dry ground and foliage. Marion Whittington's tulip garden would definitely appreciate the extra water. The sun was just setting and cast an orange glow over the streets and homes in the area. Deep within 4946 Cyprus Pond Road, a dying man sat completing his words to the wise.

Dr. Sam Loomis eighty seven years old and long since retired sat at his type writer putting the finishing touches on the last chapter of his memoirs. The old man let out a sigh as he let his frail arms down to relax. He adjusted his bifocals and reread the last paragraph then smiled to himself content and tore the page off the liner.

Sam gently set the piece in the bottom of the stack and finished the binding on this; the fourth volume of his memoir titled, "A Method to the Madness" Sam let out a deep breath as he placed the leather cover over his completed life's work which included his autobiography, thesis, and all the research he'd done in his prestigious career.

Sam slowly stood up and grabbed his cane to help him. He hobbled out of his room; past the large bulletin board full of photographs of his most infamous patient's work; and out into the hallway. The tired man headed into the kitchen to pour himself another cup of tea when he noticed the days stack of mail sitting on the dining room table.

Sam walked over to the table and thumbed through the pile. Bills, a letter to Marion from her insurance company, an invitation to Thomas Doyle and Kara Strode's wedding. Sam smiled as he opened the invitation and read it, "My my, how the time flies. I hope they will be very happy."

Sam winced in pain as his chest began to ache slightly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle of heart medication. Same took three pills and swallowed them with a sip of his tea. He set the invitation down on the table and then reached for the next piece of mail. Sam adjusted his bifocals again as he looked at the manila envelope.

Sam furrowed his brow, "No stamp, no return address." Sam examined the envelope which was addressed to him. He opened the envelope and pulled out it's contents. There were several pieces of paper. Photographs and a birth certificate.

Sam's eyes widened as he read the birth certificate and looked at the photographs. His face turned red with shock and he suddenly felt a sharp pain again in his chest. He clutched his chest as his weak heart pounded.

Sam clutched the papers and stumbled forward spilling his cup of tea. He turned and hobbled back into his bedroom where he struggled to find the right filing cabinet. Sam clutched his chest and dropped his cane. He used his free hand to yank open one of the filing cabinets. He furiously shuffled through them and used all his strength to pull the right one out.

Sam looked at the thorn symbol on the inside of his wrist and let out a pained hoarse cry. He dropped the papers and fell back onto his bed where he clutched his chest and took one final breath before collapsing dead.

About twenty minutes later Marion Whittington; formerly Marion Chambers before her marriage and subsequent widowing; pulled up to the curve outside her and Dr. Loomis' home. It had been a stressful day at the hospital and Marion was in dire need of some rest. As she got out of her car she reached into her purse and pulled out her cigarette case and lighter. She was already well into her second back today but she didn't care. She lit up and inhaled then exhaled and sighed with relief.

Marion walked up the pathway to the front door and stopped to admire her garden, "Wont last much longer." Indeed the leaves were already changing colors and most of her flowers would soon die from the cold. Marion unlocked the front door and stepped in just as the on setting darkness caused her porch light to turn on.

Marion walked into the living room and spoke out loud as she set her purse on the couch and hung up her coat, "Sam, I'm home, I'll get the chicken in the oven in just a sec and then dinner will be ready in about half an hour. Please don't try and help with the dishes again, you know how your back gets and I'm too tired for another trip to the hospital."

Marion didn't notice that Sam hadn't answered. She casually flipped the television on just as Jeopardy was starting. Marion ogled Alex Trebek for a moment then called out to Sam again, "Oh I got a call from that Mr. Doyle today, said he wanted to go over the case again since the trial's on Friday. I hope you're resting up this week so you're strong enough to testify. Sam? Are you asleep?"

Marion walked into the kitchen and started to prepare dinner when she noticed Sam's cup of tea spilled on the table. Marion sighed and called out, "I thought I told you not to strain yourself too much." Marion frustrated walked down the hallway and walked into Sam's room. Marion screamed and ran to Sam's side to feel his pulse. She stared at his dead face and shook her head, "I'm sorry…you shouldn't have been alone."

Marion wiped a few tears from her face and then looked down at her feet. She noticed the strewn papers and gathered them up, "What are these?" Marion examined the papers and gasped, "Oh my god." They were photographs of Laurie Strode, living, going about her daily life unaware of the pictures being taken of her. There were several with a young man with her.

Marion read the birth certificate aloud to herself, "Jonathan Tate, Born 1981 to parents Keri and Raymond Tate." Marion looked up at Sam's body and quietly said, "Jesus, this is what did it Sam. All these years you thought she was dead. My god. She must have faked it so she could start over and be safe. I wonder why she didn't take Jamie with her…I cant let anyone see this."

Marion hurriedly bundled up the photographs and birth certificate and found the folder Sam had dropped. It was marked 'Laurie Strode' Marion put the papers in her file and rushed out of Sam's room and into her office where she unlocked her filing cabinet and tucked the folder in away from prying eyes. Once the file was sealed away, Marion put out her cigarette, got on the phone, and called the police.

Smith's Grove Sanitarium

12:05 AM

Terrence Wynn stared into the eyes of the Devil as he fell back onto his butt. He looked down at the knife sticking out of his stomach and reached a bloody hand up to grasp the handle. Wynn screamed out as he yanked the knife out of his abdomen, blood began spilling from his stomach and staining his shirt. Michael had risen to full height and was walking towards Terrence.

Terrence started backing up and shouted in a pained cry, "What are you doing Michael!? I command you to stop! Do you hear me, I command you to-" Michael lunged forward and grabbed Wynn by the shoulders. He hoisted the man off his feet and forcefully threw him across the room.

Wynn screamed as he was hurled like a rag doll. He went crashing into the large stone altar which the four corpses were sitting on. Wynn rolled over onto his side and started crawling away while clutching his bloody abdomen. Michael turned and started walking towards Wynn again.

John had slowly been rising to his feet as Wynn flew past him and now the bleeding man was crawling towards him still clutching the knife stained in his own blood. John turned away and started limping towards Thom and Stephen, smoke rising from his partially charred flesh.

Dr. Wynn stared at his terrified cult members, red in the face, he screamed aloud, "Kill him! Stop him now!" Three men wearing black suites and sunglasses came running towards Michael, one of them was carrying a rifle and aimed it at Myers. Michael; now weaponless; swung his left hand back and smacked the first guard across the face.

The man fell hard and before he had a chance to get up Michael shot his hand forward around the man's head and twisted it 180 degrees around. The man fell dead and Michael quickly grabbed the rifle from his dead hands.

The other two guards stopped in terror and one of them turned to run away but Michael threw the rifle at him and impaled him through the back. The cult members began screaming in terror as Michael killed the guards. There were about a dozen cult members and they began scattering around in terror. The fire which had started steadily grew and unbeknownst to anyone, had slowly started burning away at the rope holding the large chandelier high above the room.

Michael saw the third guard staring at him with a look of fear. Michael started walking towards him and the man literally tripped over his own legs. He turned over onto his stomach and began to get up when Michael quickly reached down and grabbed the man by his two arms. Michael kicked his foot out and jammed it into the man's back as he viciously pulled back. The man screamed out in pain as Michael broke him backwards.

Michael turned angrily at the frenzy of cult members. He saw his son and Thom and John nursing Lindsay up but then noticed Wynn. Michael charged forward and reached down for the axe Wynn had dropped.

Michael walked towards Wynn and swung the axe at the cultists as they ran past him in blind panic. Screams and gurgles filled the room as Michael swung the axe around like a baton, slicing and decapitating various cult members as they tried to escape. Thom was watching the carnage in awe as Michael approached Wynn. The fire increased as it approached the large projection screen. The flames burned up the screen and cast the room in a red-orange light.

Wynn drew a bloody hand across the stone altar as he struggled to crawl towards the doorway that led back into the patient ward. Michael twirled the axe around and chopped off one cult members arm. The man howled in pain and fell to the ground where blood pooled under his twitching body.

Stephen clamped his hands over his ears to block out the screams and carnage. John looked around and saw the bodies' of his family. The fire was dangerously close to their corpses. John shouted out, "No!" Thom grabbed John by the shoulder and said, "We don't have time, we have to get out of here! The whole fucking thing is burning up!"

John looked up just as the burning chandelier came crashing down, crushing a female cult member under its weight. Thom wrapped his arms around Stephen and picked him up. He cringed in pain as the boy's weight pulled on his dislocated shoulder.

Thom looked back at John who was staring at Wynn, "John, grab Lindsay!" John turned back and picked Lindsay's unconscious body up. A wave of bitterness swept over him as he remembered Lindsay's actions in causing this catastrophe. He set those emotions aside though and followed Thom as they ran towards the doorway Thom and Lindsay had entered from.

John's eyes widened in anger as he saw Wynn hobbling through the doorway ahead of them. John glared as he set Lindsay down on the hard floor. Thom looked at him with a shocked expression and said, "What are you doing! We have to get the fuck out of here!"

John turned to Thom and said, "I'm going after Wynn. I can't let him get away again." Without time for Thom to respond, John turned and started running towards the door Wynn had just slithered through.

Back in the cult lair, several cult members managed to escape through the various burning exits. Michael howled in anger as he searched for Wynn. He swung the axe around in anger and began smashing it into the tombstones. Michael viciously began to smash his fists into the ancient skeletons.

He smashed Judith's skull into dust with his fist and swung his axe at Jamie's skeleton shattering it into fragmented bones. Michael raised both fists and smashed them down on top of Laurie's skeleton. He picked up the dusty corpse and toss it to the ground. Michael swung his axe and hit Sara's corpse square in the face. Her body fell limply to the ground and Michael howled as he yanked the axe out of her face and brought it down again and again and again.

The fire had turned into an inferno now, blocking the main exit and rising to the wooden pillars and beams holding the ceiling up. Michael howled as the ceiling collapsed and began to fall. Dust and fire rushed through the room as the once mighty Thorn cult's lair slowly burned and fell apart.

Michael yanked the bloody axe out of Sara's mangled corpse and stared at the bits of flesh and strands of hair still on it. The shape looked at the fiery exit and started walking forward. He plowed through the exit and smashed his way out into the murky basement.

Thom was carrying Lindsay and shoving Stephen forward as they ran down the basement hall towards the stairwell he and Lindsay had found earlier. Damn John Tate Thom though to himself. He left them here and now they were struggling to escape.

Thom found the stairway and began running up it. The added weight of Lindsay slowed him down and Stephen ran ahead of him and turned around to try and help him carry Lindsay.

While Thom and Stephen were trying to climb the stairs, John was already up on the next floor. He was slowly jogging down the hallway, following the trail of blood Wynn was leaving behind. John turned around a corner and bumped into a mental patient. John looked on in disgust at the hall filled with patients out of their cells.

John looked at the other end of the hallway and shouted out, "Wynn!" Terrence was almost at the end of the hallway, furiously pushing his way through crazy men and women shouting and cursing, "Get off of me! Get the fuck off of me!"

The patients formed a current of arms which Wynn was struggling to swim through. He turned around and saw John in hot pursuit. John started pushing his way through the many patients in order to get to Wynn.

Dr. Wynn suddenly tripped and fell to the ground. He crawled forward through the tangled mess of legs and clawed his way out of the mass of people. One patient's leg got in Wynn's way and he angrily swiped the knife across the man's foot to get him to move. Wynn looked up and saw the exit, he reached up and opened the door and crawled out to the main entrance.

John angrily plowed through the sea of disturbed people who cried out in maddened agony. They groped at John but he ignored it and just focused on getting through that door Wynn had gone through. Suddenly, John heard Thom shout out, "John!"

John turned around and saw Thom struggling with Lindsay while Stephen tried to help. They had just reached the ground floor! Thom shouted out, "Help us!" John looked at them and said, "I'm sorry! I have to stop him! He has to pay!" John turned back and continued pushing his way through the mental patients.

Thom clenched his jaw in anger and then looked at Stephen, "We're going to be ok." Thom was looking around the hallway when he heard a loud crash. He turned back and peeked around the corner. Michael had just smashed his way through the door leading into the basement!

Michael turned and looked at Thom who froze in terror. Thom slowly baked up and turned the corner. He looked down at Stephen and tried to adjust Lindsay in his arms which were sore and fatigued. Thom looked to their right and saw a broom closet. He ran over to it and reached an arm out to yank it open. He grabbed Stephen by the collar and shoved the boy into the dark closet and then turned around and backed up inside himself along with Lindsay.

Thom closed the door as quietly as possible and whispered, "Stephen don't make a sound." The two of them held their breath and waited. Thom held Lindsay tightly against him and remembered back 26 years when the two of them were stuck in a similar situation.

John was just about to the end of the hall when he heard several loud shrieks. He turned around and gasped as Michael came marching around the corner at the other end of the hall. There was no sign of Thom, Lindsay or Stephen. Dear god, had Michael killed them too!?

John began panting and his legs began to shake as he realized he might be the only one left. He backed up against the white wall behind him. He felt something digging into his back and looked down and behind him. A door handle! John struggled to open the door and quickly stepped inside. He waited and didn't make a sound. He turned around and realized he was in some sort of cell.

John turned as white as a ghost as he saw three coffins propped up against the opposite wall. John slowly walked forward and approached the three coffins. They must have been Judith's, Jamie's, and his mother's.

John closed his eyes and mustered all his courage. The whole reason he'd come to this damn town was to find out the truth about Michael and his mother. Now he knew the truth and it was much more than he bargained for. He had come this far, he had to know…

John reached his arms forward and yanked the first coffin cover off. He felt his stomach knot as he saw the pale body of a middle aged woman. It was Elizabeth Harris but John didn't know this as they had never met. He yanked off the cover of the next coffin and gagged as Diane's bloody body collapsed into a pile on the ground.

John took a breath and yanked off the third and final coffin cover. He screamed in pure fear and anguish as Molly; the love of his life; came spilling out of the coffin and into his shaking arms. John started sobbing and the sobs turned to angry screams, "No! God, Molly!"

John was sobbing and cradling his dead fiancée's body when a series of loud screams startled him. It sounded like a hundred people were crying out. Thom and Stephen heard the screams too and Thom slowly opened the closet door a crack, just enough to see what was happening. His eyes widened and he pushed Stephen back so the child would not see the carnage. The screams suddenly stopped as Thom saw what had happened.

The hallway had been painted red with the blood of all the mental patients. They all lay strewn about the ground in mangled heaps, some without arms, most without heads. The once white hallway was literally painted crimson. Thom muffled back a gag and peered further down the hall.

There was no sign of Dr. Wynn or Michael. Thom held his breath and slowly pushed the closet door open. He stepped out into the hallway and held Lindsay close to him. Stephen poked his head out from behind his father and felt his stomach contract as he beheld the ghastly sight.

Thom started moving down to the end of the hallway. He looked behind him and whispered to Stephen, "Follow me, but be quiet." Stephen nodded and quietly followed Thom as he apprehensively traveled down the bloody hallway.

Thom looked at Lindsay lying in his arms, her breathing was getting lighter and her face was deathly pale. Thom looked ahead and saw the other doorway to the side of the hallway.

Stephen was trailing behind his dad and trying not to trip over any of the countless bodies. Stephen tried his best not to look at the mangled corpses for fear that he would vomit. Stephen's clown costume was torn and barely staying intact, the boy reeked with blood and urine and caked mud and the stench of smoke smothered his body.

Thom reached the door and kicked it open; he ran in and stopped dead in his tracks. Stephen poked his head out from behind his dad's back and instantly frowned in sadness. Thom stood their silently watching John; kneeling on his knees; cradling his lover's body in his trembling arms. Thom felt his heart break for the man who'd come to him for help. John had come to this town looking for answers, and had found hell instead.

Thom took a step forward and quietly called out to John, "John, I'm sorry but…the whole place is burning up man, we have to get out of here." John was blankly looking off in the distance. His tears had stopped falling, no cries of grieve leapt from his throat any longer. He just sat there holding Molly's body close to him; running his fingers through her blood soaked hair as he gently patted her head.

Stephen took a deep breath and walked past his father and over to John. Thom called out, "Stephen what are you-" Stephen turned and looked up at his dad determinedly. Thom looked at the boy but said nothing.

Stephen turned back to the broken man in front of him. Tonight, this small child had witnessed more than any child should ever have to see. He had watched friends die, he had seen the devil himself, he'd stared into those black bottomless eyes that had been haunting his dreams ever since he could remember. He had been through several traumatizing experiences and nearly dies more than a couple of times. Now, Stephen saw John and realized their connection. Stephen placed a tiny hand on John's slumped shoulder and said, "We're family. Family sticks together."

John felt the tears well up again when he heard that word, 'family'. John had lost his family; his mother, his sister, Molly. John looked up and over his shoulder at the little boy standing behind him. He was being so brave considering everything he had been through tonight.

Stephen's face was grimy but his eyes still shimmered with brightness. John took Stephen's hand into his and squeezed it gently. Stephen felt John's hand trembling and said, "We can cry later, now we have to leave. We have to leave and go home, then we can cry together."

John opened his mouth to protest but the words wouldn't come out. He stared into the young boy's eyes and saw the child's determination. John smiled to himself as he was reminded of his mother's resilience. He looked up to Thom and said, "Your doing a great job raising him."

Thom smiled wearily and looked down at Lindsay; she was getting heavier by the minute as Thom's arms grew tired. John turned back to Molly's body and said, "I promise I'll make him pay." He slowly brought his hand up to her face and gently closed her eyes. John stood up and turned to look down at Stephen, "Family…" John looked at the cherub faced boy and smiled.

He saw his sister's angelic smile and his mother's strong eyes. John's smile slowly faded as he remembered what Wynn had said earlier about Stephen's father. John spoke again but with much more regret, "Family…"

John looked down at Stephen and remembered all those years growing up, all the times his father would refuse to speak about his mother or how they met. All the years until he moved in with his mother. John remembered always feeling like he didn't know her, like she had another side. He remembered the lapses in logic to her life story, her constant drinking, the nightmares, the therapy, the lies. All of the secrets, about Michael, and Jamie.

John stared into the eyes of this little boy and realized this was what she had died for. John wondered if his mother even knew what had happened to Jamie. About her kidnapping in 1989 and subsequent six years locked up in this god forsaken institution where no one could ever find her. They had taken her, violated her and when they were done with her; when they got what they needed from her; they slaughtered her.

John looked at Stephen; Jamie's son; and realized what it had all been about. All these years, all the death, all the sacrifice. John remembered back to the night he first met Michael and finally learned the truth about his mother. The night she sent him and Molly out to safety and stayed behind to fight her demons.

John realized what she was doing; she was protecting him, the same way Jamie was protecting her baby when she hid him and left him for someone to find. The same way he couldn't protect Molly.

John realized that Stephen was really the only real family he had left. His mother, Molly, Jamie, Sara, they were all gone; but Stephen was still here. Stephen would live on. John realized that no matter what happened to him, Stephen would live on.

John walked over to Thom and looked down at Lindsay, "Give her to me." Thom winced as his arm ached and handed Lindsay over to John. John's arms were sore too having been burned in that fire. He took Lindsay and held her for a moment.

This woman had inadvertently caused so much pain for him, but he couldn't blame her for what had happened to his mother and Sara. He couldn't blame Lindsay…"It wasn't your fault." John said to her, she was unconscious and didn't hear. John knelt down and set her down on the cold ground.

Thom protested, "John, what are you…" John stood back up and looked over to Stephen. The boy got a curious look in his eye as John quietly said, "Forgive me." Thom started to speak but John suddenly swung around and fiercely punched Thom in the face. Thom fell back hard and crumpled to his feet. He ground and was unable to get up.

Stephen screamed, "Why!! No!" John looked at the boy with sadness in his eyes and said, "It has to end." Without any hesitation, John turned and ran out of the room, leaving Stephen behind in the room with Thom nursing his face and Lindsay bleeding out.

Stephen didn't have time to think about going after John, he needed to get them out of here before that fire got any worse. Running purely on adrenaline by now, Stephen ran over to his dad and started shaking his shoulders to get him to wake up more, "Dad! C'mon get up! We have to move, I can't carry Lindsay!"

Thom's eyes groggily opened and he stared at his pleading son. Thom spat out some blood and stood up. Thom angrily looked at the door but Stephen grabbed his hand and said, "Not now!" Thom turned to his son and nodded. He scooped Lindsay back into his arms and she moaned. The trio exited the room and continued toward the exit just as smoke started entering the hallway.

Meanwhile; not too far ahead of John and the others; Terrence Wynn was stumbling and limping down another long corridor, he was clutching his bleeding stomach with his left hand and yelling on a walkie-talkie with his right hand, "I don't care what the weather conditions are like! You start that goddamn helicopter up now? I'm getting the fuck out of here! Screw the others! Let Myers take em' all! Get that copter ready, I'll be out there in three minutes and I want it ready to go!"

Terrence turned off his radio and dropped it, "Shit" He was just kneeling down to pick it up when he heard a loud explosion which caused the hallway to shake a bit. The lights flickered on and off and suddenly went out. Terrence froze; his breathing was heavy and he was sweating like a roasted pig.

Terrence slowly stood up as the emergency lights came on. They were red and cast the sweaty man in a blood red light. He heard a noise and turned and whirled around suddenly. He yanked his gun out of his jacket pocket and aimed it at the darkness. The red lights mounted on the walls only illuminated the scarcest areas, leaving the rest of the hallway in pitch blackness.

Wynn sighed and slowly put his gun away, he also put the knife in his coat pocket. Terrence was just turning around to go back to finding the radio when John suddenly came running into him full force. John grabbed Terrence by the shoulders and shoved him into the wall, "You murdering son of a bitch!"

Wynn coughed in anguish as John kicked him in the belly; right were his stab wound was. Wynn let out a pained cry and fell to his knees, "There's that Myers killer instinct…" Wynn hoarsely whispered between bloody coughs. John was breathing heavily and his face was flushed with anger but he took a step back and thought about what Wynn said. John wasn't a killer, "I'm nothing like that, I'm not like you."

Wynn was slowly starting to get up, his frame illuminated by the red light. Wynn let out a weak laugh and said, "But you are, your whole family is. Your mother, your sister…Sara." John shot forward and yanked Wynn towards him, "Don't you even say a word about them you piece of snake shit!" He shook Terrence and the man only laughed again, "Why don't you show me just how much like your uncle you are."

John angrily pulled his arm back and was ready to punch Wynn when an axe flew past them suddenly and hit the wall right next to them with a loud clang. John and Wynn both froze and looked behind them. Michael was coming towards them. John froze and Wynn seized the opportunity; he reached into his pocket and pulled out the knife and stabbed John in the thigh.

John growled in pain and fell onto his butt. Wynn turned and ran out the doors into the main lobby . John ripped the knife out of his leg and looked up at Michael who was fast approaching; bathed in the blood red light. John clutched the knife and slide backwards across the floor trying to get to the doors.

Michael was suddenly right next to John but kept on moving; he walked past John and yanked the axe out of the wall and pushed through the doorway leaving John confused and shaking.

Terrence ran through the lobby and reached the front exit. He was ready to burst through the exit when he saw the flashing red and blue lights peering out from the horizon. A line of police cars and vans were coming down the road toward the parking lot. A large police chopper also appeared over the horizon line shining a large searchlight at the building.

Wynn cursed aloud and turned around. He saw Michael come out of the exit and quickly pulled out his gun, "I gave you your power and I can take it away Michael!" Wynn began firing his gun at Michael but the shape did not stop moving.

Outside in the parking lot the cavalry finally arrived. Dozens of squad cars pulled into the parking lot and hordes of policemen started exiting the vehicles. Officer Ford and Officer Gibbs where running towards the Smith's Grove Front entrance when they saw the sheriff's squad car. They began running towards it and found Mark sitting on the ground next to the car.

"Get a medical team over her! We got the Sheriff!" Ford knelt down and looked at Mark who was breathing steadily, "You're going to be find sir." Mark looked up at the man and said, "Yeah? What about the others."

John pushed his way through the hallways exit and saw that both Wynn and Michael had vanished. He looked across the lobby and saw the police cars out front but didn't rush to the front entrance. Instead, he turned around and found one of the side doors was slightly ajar. John ran towards it and pushed the door open then ran out into the side of the parking lot.

Thom and Stephen had been making their way down the hallway when the lights went out and the emergency lights came on. They didn't let it slow them down and finally burst through the hallway doors out into the lobby. They had missed John by mere seconds but didn't even notice.

Thom saw the police lights outside and knew they had found salvation at last. Thom was galloping forward, hustling his son ahead of him and holding Lindsay as tight as he could.

Stephen was the first to reach the door but it was locked. He pushed up against it as Thom came up behind him. Thom lifted his leg and kicked the door. He was so weak from carrying Lindsay Though and started to falter.

Stephen ran over to the reception desk and wheeled a chair out towards Thom. He lifted the chair and swung it with all his might. The chair crashed into the door and shattered the glass. Stephen pushed his way through the broken frame and ran outside.

All of the cops instantly aimed their rifles and guns at the front entrance when they heard the crash. Stephen ran out and quickly stopped in his tracks and lifted his arms as the policemen held their aim.

Gibbs shouted out, "Lower em' it's the kid!" The men lowered their weapons and started to run towards Stephen. Ford ran over to the boy and wrapped a blanket around him, "We've been looking for you son." Stephen was ready to pass out but managed to say, "My dad…"

An officer shouted out, "We got two more here!" as Thom pushed his way out the front door and carried Lindsay forward. He took several more steps but held his arms out to keep Lindsay in the air. Thom was ready to collapse and two policemen quickly ran to his side and grabbed Lindsay as Thom fell to his knees in exhaustion.

Gibbs called the medical team over to Thom and Stephen. They put Thom on a stretcher and started wheeling him towards an ambulance. One of the paramedics tried to take Stephen but he cried out, "No! Not another ambulance please!" Ford looked at the paramedic and said, "Go on, he can ride in the squad car with us." Ford picked up Stephen and the little boy looked over to his dad, "I want to got home to my mommy…"

Thom was weary but his eyes shot open when he heard Stephen say 'mommy'. Thom sat up on the stretcher and began fighting off the medical team. He remembered what he had discovered before about Daniel and the curse. He knew he had to stop it. Thom jumped off of the stretcher and ran over to officer Ford. He looked at Stephen and said, "Stephen, what did the bad man say about mommy?" Stephen looked at his dad and tiredly said, "He said he was gonna make Danny like the boogeyman. I wanna go home Daddy, can we go see Danny and Mommy?"

Thom reached out and took Stephen from Ford, "Yeah we'll go see mommy right now." Thom looked at Officer Ford with a dead serious expression and said, "I need to get back to my house NOW." Ford replied, "You should go to a hospital first sir."

Thom shouted loudly, "There's no time! I need to get there now damn it! My wife needs me! It's a matter of life or death!" Ford saw how serious Thom was and picked up his walkie-talkie, "Lower the chopper, we're escorting Doyle home."

Lindsay was pushed past Thom on a stretcher with a paramedic shouted, "She needs a blood transfusion fast!" The police chopper swung around and lowered itself until it was hovering a few feet from the ground. Thom followed Ford over to the chopper and walked past Mark who was on a stretcher being loaded into an ambulance.

Mark saw Thom and Stephen and shouted, "Doyle!" Thom turned and saw Mark, he ran over to his friend shocked and shouted, "Mark! You made it out, we thought you were dead!" Mark coughed and said, "Don't be so sure. Where's John?"

Meanwhile, just around the corner on the other side of the institution, Terrence Wynn was stumbling over his legs trying to run towards the black helicopter waiting for him on the landing strip. Terrence waved his hands and shouted, "Start it up!"

The pilot saw him and prepared for take off. Terrence smiled and continued running realizing he was at the home stretch. Damn those fools for ruining everything…he'd have his revenge on them soon enough. And there was always the Strode boy…

John shouted out from behind Terrence, "You're not getting away again!" Terrence looked behind him and yelled, "Why don't you people ever die!" He pulled his gun out and shot at John but missed as John threw himself forward and tackled the older man.

The two fell hard into the muddy ground and a fierce fight began. Wynn struggled to reach the helicopter but John was trying to keep him away. "I'm not letting you walk away from this, your going to pay!"

John punched Wynn and the white haired man kicked John in the crotch. John screamed in pain and fell onto his back. Wynn rolled over onto his bloody stomach and gurgled in pain. He could hear the police sirens as he pushed himself up onto his knees and continued to make his way towards the helicopter.

John got up and ran to Wynn. He yanked the man back by his shoulders and punched him again. Wynn angrily screamed and yanked his gun back, he whacked John across the side of his head with the gun and John stumbled in pain. Wynn used the young man's momentary hesitation and aimed the gun at John.

John looked up in surprise just as Wynn pulled the trigger and shot John in the side of his stomach. John fell backwards in pain and felt the pain coursing through his body. Dr. Wynn stood up again and said bitterly, "Evil never dies…but you will." Wynn turned around and reached the helicopter; his long black coat flailing in the heavy wind caused by the propellers.

Dr. Wynn reached upwards and opened the co-pilot door and yelled at the pilot, "Go now!" The pilot argued back, "Sir, there's police everywhere!" Wynn aimed the gun at the man and said, "I'm not going to ask you again." The pilot gulped and turned to the control panel and started making all the adjustments for take off.

John was lying on the ground feeling his body weaken when he started having the flashbacks. He saw his sister Jamie screaming in fear as the cult members took her away to be raped by Michael. He saw his mother screaming in bed as she woke up from another terrifying nightmare about her brother. He saw Molly's dead body and his anger gave him strength. John slowly stood up and clutched his gunshot wound with one hand and his stab wound with the other. He slowly started limping forward on his one good leg.

Terrence looked out his window and saw John approaching, he lifted his hand and waved at the tortured man as the helicopter slowly began to take off. Suddenly, a loud crash startled Wynn and turned back to the pilot's side. Michael was standing outside of the helicopter and had smashed through the pilot's window with his fire axe. He reached inside and grabbed the screaming pilot and pulled him out of the window. Wynn froze in shock and terror as Michael lifted the pilot out of the helicopter.

Michael had the poor man by his shoulders and began lifting him higher and higher. The man looked up and saw the speeding propellers above his head and screamed. Michael heaved upwards and threw the man up into towards the spinning blades. A stream of blood splattered the shape as the man was decapitated by the propellers.

Terrence screamed and shoved over into the pilots seat. The red axe was lodged in the window frame and Wynn tried to ignore it as he took control of the helicopter. John reached up for the co-pilot's door as the helicopter lifted off the ground and hovered. Wynn saw the man out of the corner of his eyes but was too focused on taking off to do anything.

John yanked the door open and started to climb inside when he saw Michael through the pilot's window. Michael reached forward to grab his axe when Wynn stuck his pistol in Michael's face and pulled the trigger. Michael fell backwards and howled in pain as blood poured from his left eye socket.

Wynn turned his attention back to the control panel but John tried to grab him. Terrence lifted his right leg and kicked John in the face. John fell backward out of the seat but reached for the hanging door. The helicopter started getting higher and higher. Michael stood back up and lunged forward. He grabbed the axe handle and used it as leverage to climb up onto the helicopter where he held on. Wynn finally took off and the helicopter began to leave the landing strip and head off into the night.

John was hanging onto the open door with only one hand. He was hanging out in mid air a good two hundred feet from the ground and rising. He looked down at the institution and saw the smoke billowing out of the building.

Back in the front parking lot policemen and firemen where storming into the building to look for survivors and try and put out the fire. Several cult members that had escaped were being handcuffed and put into the back seats of the patrol cars.

Thom held Stephen up to the police chopper as the side door slid open. A policeman reached out and picked up Stephen. He set the boy inside and then reached his hand out for Thom.

Thom was climbing in when he saw the black helicopter fly over head from behind the Smith's Grove building. He saw John hanging out the side of the copter and stared in shock. The policeman shouted to him, "Sir C'mon!" Thom turned back and climbed into the police helicopter.

Ford stepped in next and said, "We need to get to the Doyle residence like now!" The policeman replied, "We can get you there in under ten minutes." The side door closed and the helicopter took off leaving Lindsay, Mark and the rest of the policemen behind to salvage the wreckage at Smith's Grove.

While Thom and Stephen were fast on their way home, the other helicopter was quickly moving the other way. John used his legs to swing up back into the cockpit and slammed the door shut with him. Wynn sneered and aimed his gun at John, "I won't miss again boy."

John froze and glared at the man. John saw a shape out of the corner of his eyes and said, "Neither will he." Wynn's eyes narrowed in confusion when he was suddenly jerked back. His hand left the steering handle and the helicopter veered of to the side. Michael had climbed back into the helicopter and was strangling Wynn.

Terrence was using both of his hands to try and fend the shape off leaving no one controlling the helicopter. John lurched forward and grabbed the controls. He pulled back and the helicopter swung around and began losing altitude.

John didn't know what the hell he was doing and quickly started losing control of the helicopter. He twisted the handles around and this caused the copter to turn rapidly which swung Michael and Wynn up against the side wall. John was frantically pushing buttons to try and regain control the helicopter was almost in a nose dive heading towards the tree strewn ground below.

Michael reached for the axe and managed to pull it out of the window frame. He swung it at Wynn but the force of the nose dive caused him to miss and he hit the passenger seat instead. John screamed in surprise as the axe came down next to him. Terrence struggled to reach the axe but Michael pulled him back and threw him against the side wall again. Wynn was knocked out and Michael turned his attentions on John.

John looked in his rearview mirror and saw the black eye holes staring at him. John shouted out, "If I die, then I'm taking you two with me!" John saw the trees growing closer and turned the copter and aimed it at them like a missile. Michael ripped the axe out of the passenger chair and raised it above John as the ground grew closer and closer. Michael was about to swing when John said, "Your sister says hello." Michael tilted his head as John braced himself. The helicopter violently crashed into the trees; branches were shredded by the propellers as the helicopter burst through the shrubbery and crashed into the ground.

John was thrown from the helicopter on impact and rolled across the muddy grass as the helicopter broke apart and sent pieces of debris flying across the area. John continued to roll until he hit a patch of bushes and stopped. The man fell into a bloody heap into the bushes and lost consciousness. The helicopter finally came to a stop as smoke began pouring out from the engines as a small fire broke out in the interior.

Dr. Terrence Wynn; head of the once prestigious Smith's Grove sanitarium; now a broken and bleeding man, slowly crawled out of the helicopter wreckage and fell five feet to the ground below. His stomach wound had been torn open further and he was covered in cuts and bruises. His lower leg was impaled on a piece of metal and he dragged it uselessly as he struggled to crawl away from the wreckage.

The fire increased as Terrence weakly pulled himself along with his broken arms. He cried out in pain as his stab wound was dragged across the dirt. His teeth were stained a sickly red as he spat blood out.

John Tate slowly opened his eyes and struggled to make the sky stop spinning. He was pretty sure he had a concussion from that fall but at the moment he only had one thing on his mind. He slowly stood up halfway and began dragging his bloody form towards the helicopter.

John squinted his eyes to clear his blurred vision and look through the smoke. He coughed as the smoke assaulted his nose. His entire body stun both from his burns and from the cute and bruises he'd received when he was thrown from the helicopter.

John was walking forward when he saw the fire axe lying on the ground scattered amongst the other pieces of burning metal. He reached down and picked the axe up and continued walking. He saw Wynn crawling away from the wreckage and started limping towards the man.

Back at the Doyle Residence Kara slowly knelt down and examined the shards of glass which covered her bathroom floor. There was a small puddle of blood on the floor right in front of the sink counter. Kara reached her right hand forward and placed two fingers in the puddle. The blood was warm, Kara felt chills.

As Kara examined the blood, an unseen figure entered the house through the front door. No sound was made as the figure stepped over the crumbled remains of the television and entertainment center. The figure looked at the staircase in front of them and began to walk towards them.

The unseen figure stared at the staircase. The person began walking up the stairs slowly, shallow breathing filling the air. The figure slowly reached the top of the stairs and peeked around the corner of the bathroom door.

A blurred figure slowly walked past the door frame just as Kara lifted her head suddenly. She quickly turned around and gasped but no one was there. Kara sighed and slowly stood up. She winced as her cut foot touched the ground again. Kara started walking towards Dan's room when she heard the wind blowing into the house from downstairs.

Kara turned around and started walking down the stairs quickly. She rushed to the front door and grabbed the door frame as if to keep her balance. The anxiety on her face was accented by her heavy breathing which she could see as she poked her head outside onto the front porch.

Kara slowly stepped outside and looked at the clear sky. She ran her hands over her head and through her pony tail then wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. Kara called out in confusion, "Officer Henderson?" There was no reply, "Kyle?" Kara waited but only heard the sound of wind rustling leaves.

Kara looked around off in the distance at the black windows of neighbors' homes. Many of those neighbors had been in her front yard tonight when she'd returned from Ridgemont with Thom. They had been gawking at the calamity that had befallen her family and home.

Kara didn't see any sign of Kyle and felt her heart beat increase. Maybe he got called away and had to leave in a hurry. Maybe they found Thom and Stephen and were rushing them to the hospital right now. Damn it, if only the phone worked.

Kara cursed quietly in response to the situation. She bit her lower lip nervously as she stood in the front door in her flannel robe. She had put her glasses back on and the light from the stars above and the dim street lamp across the street reflected off her lenses. She took a deep breath and slowly stepped back.

Kara closed the door quietly and hesitantly locked the deadbolt. Kara reached her other hand up to grasp the door as if leaning on it for support. Part of Kara didn't want to be in this house anymore. She wanted to run out that front door and never turn back, just keep running until her legs gave out and she collapsed on the moist ground far away from this home and this town.

Then Kara remembered why she had come back to this town in the first place. She remembered Daniel's attempted suicide two years ago, she remembered Thom and her taking Dan and Stephen to counseling before the school year started. Kara remembered that night nine years ago today when the devil came and stole her family and life away.

She remembered thinking it was all over until she laid her eyes on little six year old Danny holding baby Stephen. Kara remembered back to the first time she fell in love with Stephen and looked into his little eyes. Kara turned around and leaned back against the door.

She stood against the door with her eyes closed trying to relax despite the situation she was in. First Stephen goes missing, then Thom goes after him and now Kyle is gone. Kara felt her heart break at the thought of losing Thom or Stephen or Dan.

'Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
Open up your hate, and let it flow into me  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
You mother get up  
Come on get down with the sickness'

Kara jumped suddenly as loud music filled the empty house. Her heart started beating quickly as she listened to the loud heavy metal music. Kara looked up at the staircase and realized the loud music was coming from upstairs. She nervously looked around the living room and then cautiously made her way up the living room stairs.

As she reached the top of the stairs, Kara noticed Dan's door was slightly ajar. She took a shaky step forward and reached for the doorknob. Kara didn't touch the doorknob though, her hand was frozen as she called out, "Dan? Are you ok? Danny?" Kara's voice was choked with fear, it was almost a whisper. Her only reply was from the harsh music.

'And when I dream!!!!  
No mommy, don't do it again  
Don't do it again  
I'll be a good boy  
I'll be a good boy, I promise  
No mommy don't hit me Oh-oohh  
Why did you have to hit me like that mommy?  
Don't do it! You're hurting me Oh-oohh!  
Why did you have to be such a bitch?  
Why don't you,  
Why don't you fuck off and die?'

Kara caught her breath and slowly grasped the doorknob. It was cold and moist and her hand slid over the cool metal as she turned the handle. Kara slowly opened the door to Dan's room and stood in the doorway. The room was dark but the window was open. Wind howled and sent a rush of cold air through the room.

Kara felt the chill and shivered. She flipped the light switch but nothing happened. The room stayed dark. Kara bit her lower lip and slowly walked blindly into the cold room. She was about halfway into the room when a crack of thunder hit and startled her. She called out to her son again; this time with a much shakier voice, "Dan?"

The room was suddenly illuminated with a streak of lightening and Kara saw the empty room, there was no sign of Dan. Kara felt her stomach contract as she stared at the torn posters. Loud music was giving her a migraine and the lyrics where getting to her.

'Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
Open up your hate, and let it flow into me  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
You mother get up  
Come on get down with the sickness  
You fucker get up  
Come on get down with the sickness  
Mad-ness has now come over'

Kara lashed out in anguish and pulled the stereo off the nightstand and ripped the cord out of the wall. The music stopped abruptly and Kara dropped the stereo onto the ground. The loud crash freaked her out and she clasped her hand over her mouth as a few tears filled her eyes.

She walked over to the window and peered out at the quiet neighborhood; illuminated every few seconds by another streak of lightning. Kara was afraid. Kyle had disappeared and now Dan was gone too, "Dan, where are you? This isn't funny." Kara was shaking as she spoke.

The room was illuminated once more by the lightning. A figure could be seen behind Kara; standing in the doorway. The figure slowly crept into the room and disappeared into the darkness as the lightning flash ended. Kara turned around as another lightning streak lit up the room but there was no sign of Dan. The bedroom door was creaking and slowly moving.

Kara slowly exited the room and leaned against the side of the door frame. The room behind her was pitch black again and she ran her hand through her auburn hair and tried to calm down, "It's alright, I'll just call Kyle and find out where he went and then everything will be ok." Kara rolled her eyes, even she didn't believe that.

As Kara sighed and slowly began heading back out into the hallway, a figure began manifesting in the darkness behind her. First, just the blurred fragments of white, then a ghostly image of a blank face. Kara felt a chill and slowly turned around just as the figure stepped out of the darkness.

Kara screamed in surprise and terror and raised her right hand up in defense as the figure swung a sharp object at her. Kara felt a stinging in her hand and pulled it back. She looked down and saw the angry slash in her hand, blood spilled from the wound and began dripping on the sleek wooden floors.

Kara looked up in horror as she started backing towards the end of the hallway. The figure slowly lumbered out of the darkness and Kara's eyes widened. Her blood froze and her heart skipped a beat as she realized who had just slashed at her.

Dan stood in front of her with a blank face still white and pasty from the make-up, wearing blue flannel pajama pants and a white t-shirt and holding his step-fathers straight razor blade. Dan didn't speak, he didn't say a word, he only breathed. His eyes were no longer his but had been replaced by cold hollow deadened eyes of a soulless creature.

Kara was shocked, she cried out in a hoarse whisper, "Danny? No…it can't, but I…" She took another blind step back not realizing that she was dangerously close to the top of the staircase. Dan took another step forward and Kara saw the blood on his arms. She gasped as she saw the slash marks on his arms and her gasp turned into a surprised scream as she saw the mark on his left arm. He had carved the thorn symbol into the inside of his arm.

Kara looked into her son's eyes searching for some sign of her baby but all she could find was darkness. Her eyes filled with tears as she pleaded with Dan, "You Can't, Dan what's wrong with you? Can't you hear me? I'm your mother for god's sake, you can't do this, please…I love you."

Dan lifted his arm and swung the blade at her again. Kara screamed and jumped back. She landed awkwardly and fell backwards down the stairs. Kara screamed as she well, hitting her head and shattering her ankle. She collapsed into a heap at the bottom of the stairs and looked up. Dan stood at the top of the stairs looked down at her. He began coming down the stairs towards her.

Kara cried out as her survival instincts took over her maternal instincts. She couldn't stand up but reached a hand up to clutch the doorknob behind her. She struggled to try and unlock the door but her hands were wet with blood and they kept slipping off of the knob. Kara screamed and rolled over and startled crawling out into the living room.

She stood up and started limping forward but tripped over a piece of the broken entertainment center. She fell forward and rolled over onto her back. Kara clutched her broken ankle and cried out in pain as Dan reached the bottom of the stairs. His breathing was heavy and he was slowly approaching Kara who was backing up terrified.

Back at the crash site, John was limping towards Wynn using the axe to steady himself. Dr. Wynn rolled over onto his back and looked up into the air. He was moaning in pain as John approached him. John was standing over him holding the axe and Wynn looked into his angry eyes.

A bloody grin spread over Dr. Wynn's face as he looked at the angry young man, "So here we are at last Mr. Tate. You've gotten your answers I hope." John nodded. Dr. Wynn coughed up some blood and continued, "Then you know you can't stop it. Michael may die now that the curse is lifted off from him but the evil will live one forever, like a force of nature."

John stood there silently, breathing as he listened to Wynn, "I have spent my life nurturing it's power. I was its guardian you see. I found the vessel, I harnessed the power, and I used it make this town what it is today. It's power is immortal and it flows through your veins. But you? You're still uncorrupted, your soul hasn't been damned yet like the rest of your family. You and the child are the last…you think you've won? You think it's over? Ha ha ha…it's just the beginning!"

Terrence coughed again and groaned as his pain increased, "You think you know what pain is hmmm? You haven't a clue. You don't know what death is, you don't know what hell is. But you're going to find out."

John's eyes widened angrily and he lifted the axe, "You first." John brought the axe down hard and a spatter of blood hit his face. He brought the axe up and slammed it down again.

As this happened Michael Myers emerged from the burning wreckage of the helicopter and howled in pain as he fell consumed in flames. The loud screams of Myers and Wynn pierced the night air.

The screams continued across town as Dan slashed the blade at his mother. Kara's cries were intertwined with Terrence's as the razor blade swung with the axe blade like a deadly dance of murder. Daniel slashed the blade and a blood splatter painted the wall. He swung again and another blood spatter hit his shirt and face.

John swung the axe again and again and again until his arms gave out and he dropped the axe. His heavy breathing now the only sound left in the area. Blood dripped down his burned and bruised face as footsteps were heard in the distance. The policemen were racing towards the crash site from the misty forest. They had no idea the horror they were about to find.

Neither did Thom Doyle as he waited impatiently in the police chopper. Thom peered through the window and finally recognized the houses on his block. He shouted, "Here! Get us down now!" The helicopter slowly landed and Thom jumped out of the side door before the chopper even reached the ground. Time slowed down know for Thom Doyle much the same way as it did for Peter Myers forty-one years ago on the night when he came home from a party and found hell in his home.

Thom saw officer Kyle Henderson sitting groggily next to the bushes near the front door nursing a bleeding forehead. The man was barely able to speak but he muttered the words, "From behind…" Thom broke out in a sweat as he ran towards the front door, "Kara!" He shouted out.

Thom was running but he couldn't seem to get to the door fast enough. He reached the door and broke it open and raced into the house through the living room and into the kitchen where he stopped dead in his tracks and turned as pale as a corpse.

The sight he beheld at his feet would haunt him for the rest of his life. Tears began falling from his eyes as a look of pure terror and grieve stretched his face. His body went numb and the world fell apart as his eyes were transfixed on the sight.

Then, as if a light bulb had exploded inside his head, Thom looked up at the person he knew had done this. He stared into the new face of evil and a look of resolve spread across his face. He had failed, he hadn't stopped the evil. The evil lived on as Dan stood in the kitchen looking blankly at the wall, looking through the wall, looking ahead to his next chance for mayhem.

Thom saw the evil and slowly collapsed into a sobbing pile of anguish and regret. His hands clutched the sides of his heads as he screamed in a way not heard since he was a child. The policemen and Stephen raced into the house behind him but they had all disappeared in Thom's awareness.

The deafening cries from his son were blotted out by his own cries. Their cries were only met with the quiet heavy breathing of a figure standing in front of them stained with blood. A figure no longer human. A figure that was no longer a man, but a shape in the darkness.

THE END

Author's Note: Oh My God! I finally did it! It took two years but this tale is finally complete! I hope you enjoyed reading Halloween Bloodline and thank you for waiting and for all the support and great feedback I received. I will post one more chapter to this story but it will not be a chapter exactly but rather my reflection on this piece and how I developed the story as well as my thoughts on the Halloween series and some sneak peeks for the sequel. But for now, Peace Out!

LanternLizzard


End file.
